44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 11, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/11/22 11:29:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the convoy is blocking Canadians from going to work across the country. People in my region of southwestern Ontario are heavily impacted. All Canadians are missing much needed national leadership during this crisis. They are tired of jurisdictional excuses and they just want this to stop.
The vast majority of Canadians have done their part. They are following public health measures and we owe it to them to use every tool available to stop these occupations and to work on a plan.
When will the government end this occupation that is harming Canadian workers and their families?
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- Feb/11/22 11:30:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely correct in that 90% of Canadians have taken up their vaccinations. It is a small, angry lot that continues to participate in these illegal blockades, which is why the government will provide law enforcement with all of the tools and resources they need.
Our number one priority is very clear and that is to end the illegal blockades, uphold the law and make sure we get trade and travel moving again. That is why it is so imperative that every member in the chamber call on the convoy to go home.
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- Feb/11/22 11:31:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, provinces and countries around the world are removing mandates and restrictions. The Liberals lack compassion and empathy and are not in line with our allies and other G7 countries. Is the Prime Minister waiting to once again be the last to act? For the last two years, Canadians have been continually let down by the Liberal government. It is time for Canada to have a clear path out of the pandemic. Canadians have sacrificed to keep our community safe but now they are being ignored and discredited.
When will the Liberals stop dividing and end the mandates?
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- Feb/11/22 11:31:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, ever since the beginning of the pandemic, all Canadians have wanted to know when it will be over and when we can go back to the way things were. I count myself among them. I am eager to get back to normal as well.
The reality is that we will continue to do what is right for Canadians and keep people safe throughout the pandemic. Different jurisdictions have handled things differently and we have seen that every step of the way. This include some jurisdictions across the country, which we have been there to support, and different countries that have had much worse outcomes in some cases and even with more restrictions.
I am proud of the fact—
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- Feb/11/22 11:32:14 a.m.
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The hon. member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake.
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- Feb/11/22 11:32:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately there are no gold medals for spin doctoring. The Prime Minister has stumbled from failure to failure on the COVID-19 response. He seems to have forgotten the most pressing need for Canadian families: a foreseeable and successful return to normal public life.
Instead of dismissing and stigmatizing Canadians who voice valid concerns, he needs to rise above politicizing the pandemic and provide answers.
When will the Liberal government stop alienating those it disagrees with and find a way—
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- Feb/11/22 11:32:52 a.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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- Feb/11/22 11:32:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, personal attacks aside, I am proud of Team Canada and I will give them a quick little shout-out over at the Winter Olympics. I am sure all of the members of the House are proud of our team. I do not know why she would want to take a personal dig at me for that.
The reality is that we want to continue to support Canadians and we want to keep them safe, healthy and alive. We have to recognize this pandemic is not over. We need to continue to trust science and encourage our neighbours to get vaccinated. I understand how frustrated Canadians are. I count myself among them. However, we need to stay focused on keeping Canadians safe and that includes some restrictions.
I will point out that most of those public health restrictions are provincial in nature.
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- Feb/11/22 11:33:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, almost two years have passed. Canadians toughed it out and got through this pandemic.
It is time for the government to table a plan that will let Canadians from all across the country plan for the return to normal life.
We are asking it to stop playing politics. The government must have a plan to reopen. Let us give Canadians hope.
When will the plan be tabled?
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- Feb/11/22 11:34:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for this very important question.
We know that the omicron variant is spreading quickly around the world. That is why the government quickly put health restrictions in place at the borders in order to continue protecting Canadians against the spread of COVID-19.
As stated earlier, our government is officially recommending that Canadians avoid all non-essential travel outside the country. Collectively and individually, we all have a role to play.
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- Feb/11/22 11:34:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we do not want to hear about restrictions. We want a plan to reopen.
Almost 90% of Canadians are vaccinated. Protesters came to Ottawa with the message that they want some freedom back. The Prime Minister's partisan attitude turned this protest into a blockade that is now entering its third weekend.
Will the Prime Minister undertake to quickly and peacefully bring an end to the blockade?
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- Feb/11/22 11:35:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the member that the blockades are causing harm in our communities, so I would ask him to ask all of his colleagues on the other side to ensure we are all encouraging people to go home. As we have seen recently, the member for Carleton says he is proud of the trucker convoy. The anti-vax protests are exactly what he wants for his new political agenda, so let us encourage everybody to go home and to evacuate this blockade in Ottawa that is causing so much harm so that we can get on with our lives and continue to support Canadians and keep them healthy.
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- Feb/11/22 11:36:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, from the Liberals we continue to see the politics of division. Instead of talking to Canadians, they try to divide them. Instead of doing their job, they pass the buck to the provinces on what is squarely the government's jurisdiction: our international borders. It was the current Prime Minister who once said, “The role of the PM is to build a stronger country, not make it easier for some to break it apart.” Leadership means having conversations, even when they are with people we disagree with.
Is the Prime Minister prepared to have these conversations and to peacefully and quickly end the impasse this country is facing?
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- Feb/11/22 11:36:42 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, just last night the Prime Minister had a conversation with the leader of the Conservative Party and all other leaders. Of course we do not agree on all of the ways in which we are going to get out of the pandemic, but the single golden thread that has run through our strategies is that we have to get people vaccinated. It is nice now to see that the Conservatives have finally realized that we can have disagreements but we cannot break the law. That is why it is important that we all encourage the members of these illegal blockades to go home.
No one is above the law. I would think the Conservative Party, which is a party that claims to be the party of law and order, would do the same thing.
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- Feb/11/22 11:37:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve a plan from the government on when it will end the federal mandates. Countries around the world and provinces across this country are making that decision. Even Canada’s top doctor has said it is time to return to normalcy. Like the minister said, nine out of 10 Canadians have been vaccinated. Is the goal from the government 100% before it reopens? If that is the case, the Liberals need to tell Canadians that life will not get back to normal until 100% of Canadians are vaccinated.
Canadians have done the hard work. It is the time for the government to do its work. What is the plan to reopen?
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- Feb/11/22 11:38:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, what my colleague from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes tends to like to ignore is that every person who gets vaccinated is one person fewer who is likely to experience severe outcomes, head to the hospital or, indeed, die from COVID-19. Canada is a big country and public health advice can vary across the country due to local epidemiological situations in various jurisdictions. As such, it is the responsibility of each government to take decisions that are most appropriate to the their local epidemiological context.
We also know Canadians want to finish this fight against COVID-19, and I would ask the member to encourage his community to continue to get vaccinated. I know there is a very high uptake in his community—
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- Feb/11/22 11:38:40 a.m.
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The hon. member for Manicouagan.
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Madam Speaker, the federal government has finally realized that it is inhumane to reduce the GIS for the poorest seniors because of CERB.
It has introduced Bill C‑12, which will stop the reductions, but not until the July payment, even though seniors have been making sacrifices at the grocery store and even the pharmacy for the past year. Twelve months of daily sacrifices. This is crucial income for these seniors, but the government plans to keep reducing that income until the early summer.
How is it humanly possible to move so slowly?
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Madam Speaker, we can all agree just how challenging this pandemic has been on seniors, and our government has been there from the start to support them. We committed to help seniors by issuing a one-time payment to those on GIS where it was reduced due to pandemic benefits. Additionally, as the member said, we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefit for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward.
I urge the member and all those on the other side to put politics aside and support Bill C-12.
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- Feb/11/22 11:39:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the federal government should be better than that.
Six months will have passed between the point at which the government publicly admitted it had made a huge mistake in reducing the GIS for the poorest seniors in December and the point at which it will actually stop the reductions, in the payment to be sent out at the end of June.
The solution here is not complicated. All the government needs to do is stop cutting benefits for seniors.
How could this possibly take six months to implement?
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