44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 4, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/4/22 11:18:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, February 6, Canada celebrates the platinum jubilee. It marks the 70-year reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
There is no doubt that she has seen many heartbreaking moments and heartfelt joys during her reign as our sovereign. Throughout all these years, she has been a hallmark of prudence, stability and insightful leadership, articulating values that we have seen stand the test of time.
The majority of events for the jubilee will actually take place in June. On June 2, Coronation Day, there will be the lighting of a giant beacon in Ottawa, one of 1,500 beacons being lit around the Commonwealth and the United Kingdom.
In honour of Her Majesty's steadfast service to Canada, our government is funding community-based projects to pay tribute to Canada's long-standing relationship with the Crown.
I encourage all Canadians to plant a commemorative tree or plan a cultural event to celebrate 70 years of leadership from Her Majesty the Queen.
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- Feb/4/22 11:20:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a week, and it is time to put an end to the protest at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It is also time to put an end to the restrictions that sparked the protest.
The expressions of hatred and racism we have seen at the protest are unacceptable. What we are witnessing is an appalling lack of leadership. The mayor of Ottawa, the police and everyone else are asking someone, somewhere to step up and put an end to this.
So far, the Prime Minister has opted to add fuel to the fire and maintain the restrictions rather than listen to the protesters. It is time to act like a leader.
What specific actions will the Prime Minister take to end this situation peacefully?
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- Feb/4/22 11:20:52 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
I had a productive conversation last night with the mayor of Ottawa, Mr. Watson. Then I checked with the RCMP, which confirmed it is adding resources on the ground.
It is important to follow the law, recognize how destructive the convoy has been, and continue to support residents. The RCMP will be ready to assist the Ottawa Police Service, who are the police of jurisdiction.
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- Feb/4/22 11:21:32 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since the pandemic started. More than 34,000 Canadians have died. The COVID‑19 virus has strained a health network that was already stretched thin before the pandemic began.
The health network is sick. COVID‑19 is not the only reason. Canada ranks 30th among OECD countries with respect to number of hospital beds per capita, with 2.5 beds per 1,000 inhabitants. That is almost half the OECD average, which is 4.4 beds per 1,000 inhabitants.
Will the Prime Minister immediately commit to launching discussions with the provinces about health transfers?
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- Feb/4/22 11:22:08 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
The COVID‑19 pandemic continues to highlight the challenges that all Canadians face with respect to care, including shortfalls in infection prevention and control equipment.
We have been there to support the provinces and territories from the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and we will continue to work with the provinces and territories to fight COVID‑19 together.
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- Feb/4/22 11:22:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have some more numbers to share with my colleague.
The situation is even worse when it comes to the number of doctors. Canada ranks 32nd, with 2.7 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, while the OECD average is 3.6 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. It is no wonder that people are having a hard time finding a family doctor.
The Conservatives have promised to increase health transfers by at least 6% per year and to initiate discussions with the premiers within the first 100 days to come up with solutions.
The Council of the Federation is meeting today. Will the Prime Minister commit to an unconditional increase in transfers to the provinces, yes or no?
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- Feb/4/22 11:23:23 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I also thank him for giving me an opportunity to practise my French.
I will answer in English so that I do not stumble over my numbers, because the question was about numbers.
Indeed, we have provided $63.7 billion in support of Canada's health response, including $14 billion for vaccines, including $5.3 billion for PPE, and, last year alone, we provided almost $42 billion in cash support to provinces and territories.
I wish to work together with my colleague on the committee for health so we can find better solutions for health care in this country.
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- Feb/4/22 11:24:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has exposed inefficiencies, a lack of depth and chronic underfunding of our strained health care system. It is a pandemic that the federal government has no strategy to end. The limited capacity, staff shortages and backlogged health services have caused irreversible harm to Canadians, and it is caused by the government's refusal to increase funding.
Why is the government refusing to negotiate health transfers to the provinces?
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- Feb/4/22 11:24:39 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share with my hon. colleague a position on the health committee, so I look forward to tackling some of these issues in committee.
Once again, I will reiterate the numbers. The Government of Canada has indeed provided almost $42 billion in cash support. We will continue to be there for our provinces and territories.
I will also acknowledge that we must continue to work to ensure that people are getting vaccinated, talk to our communities about getting vaccinated, and not bow to pressure from the anti-vax lobby, which seems quite insistent to remove that from the conversation.
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- Feb/4/22 11:25:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives promised to meet the premiers in our first 100 days of governing to address the urgent needs of the provinces and to boost the growth rate of the Canada health transfer to at least 6%, providing stable, long-term and predictable health funding.
The Prime Minister has failed to create a plan to work for all Canadians, and he has failed to bring Canadians back to normal. Why has the government not met with the provinces and territories to discuss fixing the health transfers?
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- Feb/4/22 11:25:55 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again that is simply not true. The Prime Minister meets with the provinces and territories on a regular basis, as does our amazing Minister of Health. I represented the Minister of Health at a recent FPT meeting. We were proud to discuss issues of pertinence with provinces and territories, making sure that we continued to work in conjunction with them and providing the supports that were necessary. Every request they have had of us recently has been fulfilled. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/4/22 11:26:21 a.m.
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I know it is Friday and people want to get home, but I ask them to keep it down so I can hear the answers to the questions.
The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.
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- Feb/4/22 11:26:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a significant deterioration of the situation in the streets of Ottawa and in front of Parliament, and I believe this warrants a very peaceful and very reasonable call for calm on the part of all parties involved. The media is talking about a permanent encampment. They are talking about an occupation that could last until spring, which is a major concern for many people.
What does the government itself realistically plan to do to ensure people's safety? More specifically, does it agree with our recommendation for creating a crisis task force that would bring all police services together under one command?
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- Feb/4/22 11:27:20 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a great deal of co-operation going on between the RCMP and the Ottawa Police Service, which is the police of jurisdiction here in Ottawa.
This communication began at the start of the protest and is continuing. As I already told my colleague, I spoke with the mayor of Ottawa last night and subsequently confirmed that the RCMP is going to add more resources to ensure that everyone on the ground is safe.
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- Feb/4/22 11:27:53 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from what I understand, everything that is happening is happening without or in spite of the government, which is quite worrisome in and of itself.
The extremists are waiting for reinforcements, many of them from outside the region. The truckers are expecting reinforcements. There are plans for a counterprotest, which would quite likely devolve into a confrontation.
In light of this, has anyone contacted the spokespeople, who have finally been identified among the protesters, to ask them to leave before the situation really escalates?
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- Feb/4/22 11:28:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleague understands that operational decisions are made by the police of jurisdiction, which in this case is the Ottawa Police Service.
That is how our democracy works. We must always respect the fact that police have the jurisdiction to make operational decisions. I know that the Ottawa Police Service is in discussions with some of the convoy leaders, but all that is a police matter.
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- Feb/4/22 11:29:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, veterans continue to wait for their disability supports. The backlog of applications is long and has been for years, and the minister is not committing to extend temporary workers past March 31. The list of veterans still waiting for help is far too long, and without these much needed workers, it will only get worse.
Where is the commitment from the Prime Minister to support our veterans? These temporary workers must be made permanent to honour Canada's commitment to those who served our country.
When will the minister stand up for those who stood up for us?
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- Feb/4/22 11:29:59 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her work on the veterans committee. Our government's investment of nearly $200 million has increased staff, with hundreds of staff workers, and allowed us to speed up processes. Budget 2021 also allowed us to extend those resources.
I want to share with the House something that is very important. We have seen, in the last year, a decrease of 40% in the backlog. Tackling the backlog is our top priority, and we will continue to do what we need to do to support our veterans.
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- Feb/4/22 11:30:39 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Marten Falls First Nation has declared a state of emergency for their children who have gone all year without school, not because of COVID but because they have no teachers. Teachers cannot be brought to a community suffering from a massive housing and infrastructure crisis.
If it is not safe for teachers, it is certainly not safe for students. They have pleaded with the minister all year for help. The school year is now half over, and nothing has been done.
What steps will the minister take to guarantee that the children of Marten Falls First Nation have a right to quality education this year?
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- Feb/4/22 11:31:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the events at Marten Falls are concerning. Our department will follow up with the community, and continue to follow up with the community to ensure a path forward that works for them. Everyone deserves the right to clean water and proper infrastructure to help with the needs of the community.
This is why we have invested in drinking water advisories since 2015. To date, we have lifted 127 long-term advisories and prevented 208 short-term advisories from becoming long term. There is still more to do across the board for these communities and for water operators, and of course the proper infrastructure all communities need—
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