44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/14/22 7:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the member is talking about has nothing to do with the topic at hand of securing rapid tests for Canadians. I know in my province of Manitoba rapid tests are severely needed. Manitobans need them, so could the hon. member get back to the topic at hand?
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- Feb/14/22 7:53:05 p.m.
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I have been surprised before when I believe members are off on a tangent and suddenly they bring their argument. I am sure the hon. member will make sense and come into his argument. I will just remind him, though, to try to be as relevant as possible when he is debating the topic at hand.
I will let the hon. member continue.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe this is absolutely relevant. We are talking about $2.5 billion of money. What is $2.5 billion? What is $1.2 trillion of deficit that we have doubled under the Liberals? What does that mean? It is just money. It is just taxpayer money. It just puts it upon our children and their children and their children. Who cares? That is the attitude we are getting from this group.
Why am I passionate about this? It is because the Liberals are trying to ram through this bill, which we have supported. We have talked about getting rapid testing for the past year and a half. For the past year and a half, we have been bringing this forward. Now they are patting themselves on the back for getting all of these rapid tests. They are not very rapid on getting the rapid tests. It is pretty slow if they ask me.
More than just slow, it is not just the rapid tests. We need to examine this. How about vaccinations? They tell you, Mr. Speaker, that we have more vaccines per capita than others in the world. We have almost as many as there are stars in the sky.
We have vaccines, 200 million vaccines, and this does relate to the motion. It does not matter that we are paying twice as much as the Europeans or 50% more than the Americans. That is just taxpayer money. We are talking about $2.5 billion. What are we getting for that? Do Canadians not deserve to see what is in there? The Liberals say that it is an emergency and we have to pass this forward.
Maybe there is another little emergency happening right now. The fact of the matter is that we had a vote today on getting mandates lifted, and the Liberals want to shift the dial. Premier Ford was announcing that the province was lifting restrictions and their response was to ask, “What should we do?” Let us have an emergency meeting right now, tonight, Sunday night, and bring in the emergency measures act, and for good measure let us also do this bill.
Things have been serious for a while, but this is how this party works, supported by our friends in the NDP. This is serious and Canadians have a right to know.
When the pandemic began, we had daily calls with staff and it was a running joke after a while. We would give some suggestions to the public affairs people who answer the questions and give it to the end of the month. On the other side the ministers would say that it was a good idea and they would just incorporate it, whether it was a 10% wage subsidy at the beginning, increased to 75%, or a whole host of measures. The impression that we on this side get is absolute wastefulness on that side. They say it is the taxpayers but whatever.
We have doubled the amount of debt in Canadian history just in the past while here. There comes a time for accountability. There comes a time for constraint. There comes a time for thoughtfulness, and we are not seeing it over there.
I remember watching what was happening here over the past couple of years and wondering who we are being run by. Who is economically running this? Is this a group of high school students? I am sorry to high school students. I am a high school teacher by profession. However, this is ridiculous. Maybe they should not be sending these cheques to foreign addresses. Going back to high school students, maybe they should not be giving tens of thousands of dollars to students who have made maybe $5,000. Maybe a bit of thoughtfulness would have been helpful for Canadians, because the Liberals are putting us into bondage.
This is an important bill.
I would also say this on vaccinations. I will tell them where they can put the rapid tests to good use. They can maybe open up to some people they have excluded from Canada. They have made them lepers. Who are these lepers? They are the people who are unvaccinated, who happen to be, according to the Liberals' report, about 20% or maybe more of the population. Maybe people could use them so they could travel. That was the Conservative position. How about letting people travel?
In British Columbia and Canada right now, 20% of households have had COVID in the past month and a half. We are talking about millions of people. It is all over. It is endemic.
They are saying to forget about testing and treat it like you have a flu or a cold. They are saying to stay at home. I know hundreds of people who have had COVID. I had COVID three weeks ago, and my wife did also, so it is real. I know people who have died from it. I am not saying we do not need rapid tests. I am just saying that we need to show a little more thoughtfulness and respect for Canadian taxpayers.
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Mr. Speaker, I must say that was entertaining. When we follow the debate of the Conservatives today, we have to wonder where they are on the issue of tests.
We have some members who stand up to ridicule it. It is almost as if they do not believe rapid tests play a valuable role at all in society. They are asking why we are spending this money. Then there are other members who stand up to say they are going to vote in favour of the legislation.
I guess the question to ask the member is whether he will be be voting in favour of the legislation. Is he against the legislation? Where is the Conservative Party today, Mr. Trump? Oh, I meant that for the member.
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Mr. Speaker, honestly, we are with Canadians. We are concerned about their health. We want to see them wherever they are at. We want them to have their own free choices. It is “my body, my choice” as far as vaccinations go. It is not to treat them like they are idiots or like they are white supremacists. They are not. They are Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. While we might have fun volleying back and forth with the member for Winnipeg North, his addressing my colleague as Mr. Trump was offensive.
He knows full well that was not a mistake. He did it on purpose. I ask that he stand and apologize to the member and to the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I withdraw the comment and I apologize.
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- Feb/14/22 8:01:12 p.m.
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It being 8 p.m., pursuant to an order made earlier today, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings to put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of Motion No. 8 under government business now before the House.
The question is on the amendment.
If a member of a recognized party wishes to request a recorded division or that the amendment be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Feb/14/22 8:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote.
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- Feb/14/22 8:02:45 p.m.
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I declare the amendment defeated.
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- Feb/14/22 8:49:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion. I move:
That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Government Business No. 8 standing on the Order Paper in the name of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, be amended:
a) in paragraph (c), by deleting all the words after the words “recorded division is requested” and substituting the following, “it shall be deferred to the next sitting day at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions, and the House shall then adjourn to the next sitting day”; and
b) by deleting paragraph (g).
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- Feb/14/22 8:49:39 p.m.
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All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay. Hearing no dissenting voice, it is agreed.
The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.
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- Feb/14/22 8:50:22 p.m.
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The next question is on the main motion, as amended.
If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion, as amended, be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Feb/14/22 8:51:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded division.
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I declare the motion, as amended, carried.
Pursuant to order made earlier today, the House will now proceed to the consideration of the bill at second reading.
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- Feb/14/22 9:05:11 p.m.
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Pursuant to order made earlier today, two members of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may each speak for not more than 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments. Members may be permitted to split their time with another member.
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Mr. Speaker, I am obviously very happy to rise this evening, during the 44th Parliament of Canada, to support Bill C‑10, which would give Health Canada the legislative authority to spend up to $2.5 billion to purchase and distribute rapid tests across the country.
This bill will help the provinces and territories meet their needs for COVID‑19 rapid tests and will continue to support the national program for COVID‑19 workplace screening, in addition to federal workplace testing and screening initiatives.
It is a critical time in our fight against COVID-19, and we need every tool at our disposal. Testing plays a key role in our effort to contain and mitigate the pandemic by identifying infected individuals—
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moved that Bill C-10, An Act respecting certain measures related to COVID-19, be read the second time and referred to a committee of the whole.
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- Feb/14/22 9:06:08 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. minister and call for order.
Order. I want to point out to everyone that the minister is giving a speech and I want to make sure that everyone can hear what he has to say.
The hon. minister.
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