SoVote

Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)

Mar/1/22 2:51:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday in question period, the health minister praised the Province of Saskatchewan on its COVID-19 efforts. As of Monday, all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in my province. Businesses can fully open and smiles can be shared between the people of Saskatchewan once again. Canada has some of the highest vaccination rates in the world. When will the health minister follow the lead of the science-backed provincial health authority and lift all federal mandates?

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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22

Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Saint-Laurent, Lib.)

Mar/1/22 3:01:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the last two years of this pandemic have underscored the importance of investing in domestic manufacturing of vaccines and personal protective equipment and, therefore, supporting science and research in Canada. It is also important to provide Canadians with options, which is why I am pleased to rise in the House today to ask about the first Canadian-made, plant-based COVID-19 vaccine, the Medicago vaccine, which was approved by Health Canada on February 24. Can the Minister of Health outline how the government is supporting the use of this vaccine?

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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22

Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)

Mar/1/22 6:34:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the adjournment proceedings tonight. I will start with a candid comment that I have said to several constituents over the course of the last few weeks when we have debated the many issues facing the city of Ottawa specifically and our country: I cannot wait until we can come to the floor of the House of Commons and not talk about COVID or convoys. However, I want to follow up on the supplemental question I asked in question period a few weeks ago about a reopening plan from this government. As I said before, this should be a happy time for our country. We are seeing a drop in severity with the latest COVID-19 variant, and we have seen the surge begin to eliminate itself. We have seen public health data and public health experts say that we are now in a phase of this pandemic, thankfully, where we do not have to live in fear and where we can learn to live with COVID and adjust our public health measures to do so. A few weeks ago in our opposition day motion, we simply asked for a plan. The motion was voted down down by the government and the NDP, not because of science but because of politics. It was reasonable at this point in the game, and it was not unrealistic. Several provinces, provincial premiers and leaders around the world in similar situations to what Canada has faced during this pandemic have given their citizens hope to say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, here is the plan, here are the metrics, here are the benchmarks to know that we are finally getting to the end of this pandemic, and here is when we can see some closure and some advancement on getting back to normal. I had to laugh because the motion was voted down and two days later an NDP member stood up in question period and said, “We need a plan”. The NDP just voted against it three days before. Nevertheless, we are still here, unfortunately, in a situation where, yes, things have certainly been tense in our country over the past few weeks and months. A lot of my constituents say, and rightly so, that there is a difference between the federal restrictions and measures that have been put in place and the provincial ones. A lot of provincial premiers and leaders have shown plans and timelines and made progress, but at the federal level we do not see that same leadership. We have asked the government numerous times to provide the science and data that shows the reason for mandates and some of the measures it is responsible for, but these things are still in place and we have gotten silence back. However, others are speaking up in this country. I think of the many border communities in the province of Ontario, where home is to me, such as the city of Cornwall, the port of entry there and SD&G. Local mayors and tourism businesses are wanting to see the restrictive measures at land borders finally and rightfully lifted. There have been leaders as well. For example, I will quote an article where Mayor Drew Dilkens from the City of Windsor said this: “So I think what we need to do is trust Canadians to make smart decisions. We've asked people to get vaccinated, that is the high water mark here of the pandemic. But having a requirement for a test is really an optical illusion for safety. It really is providing no real protection.” Dilkens and his counterparts said the science doesn't support testing of this kind and it remains a barrier for those looking to cross land borders between the U.S. and Canada. We also still have on the table from the government the idea of an interprovincial mandate for truck drivers, which would be extremely inappropriate considering the data, public health advice and the direction of provincial leaders and many countries around the world. My supplemental question to the government is this: What are the metrics? What are the time frames? Where is the hope to get back to a semblance of normalcy and to get back to normal? Canadians have been more than patient. They have done their part. There is no reason why at this point in the game they cannot have a detailed plan.

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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22

Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)

Mar/1/22 6:38:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member, although the question he asked me was not the question that I was given to respond to. Just before I do respond with the speech that I was given, I would just say that COVID is not listening to Parliament. COVID is not listening to politicians. We talk about providing a plan. Two years ago, almost to the day, we were hit with a pandemic that none of us ever expected to see. I am very proud of how our government has responded. I was really proud, at the beginning of the pandemic, of how all the parties came together in March 2020. I remember a press conference in which all parties were saying that we needed to pull together. That changed over the months, unfortunately. I wish that in March 2020, somebody could have said, “Okay, in two weeks time, this is what is going to happen,” but none of us knew. None of us expected it. The member said that the government needs to say what the plan is. We have never been able to say that, because we do not know what the virus is going to do. I think we have acted responsibly. We have always had the health and safety of Canadians at the heart of every decision we have made. That is the most important thing that we can do. It is important that the opposition work with us. It is important that we work together. We are always open to hearing constructive ideas from the opposition, from all parties in the House and from all members of the House as to the best way forward. I do not know how much time I have left, but I was of the understanding that the question was going to be about the implementation of the Emergencies Act. I would like to just touch on part of that, only because I think it is important to highlight the importance of our national unity and the leadership of the government. Canadians are looking for the country to come together. They are looking for all of us to listen to each other in a respectful way. Over the last few months, we seem to have lost the ability to disagree agreeably. I do not say that about the hon. member, who in my experience has always had the ability to disagree agreeably, and I appreciate that. I know that our government appreciates those who come to these really difficult issues in ways that are constructive. Unfortunately, the rhetoric and the misinformation created, in our peaceful country, peaceful protests that turned into an occupation. That turned into convoys that were blocking trade in my community of Oakville North—Burlington. We saw Ford of Canada with layoffs. We moved away from having those dialogues. The conversation is important, but it is unrealistic to say that we could present a plan for something that would not be listening to anything we said.

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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22

Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Mar/1/22 6:44:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it has been nearly a month since I asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage whether he would consider hosting a national conference on the future of art. Since then, performing artists have continued to reach out to me about how their livelihoods are imperiled. The arts community is an integral part of our economy, and while the additional funding by the government via the Canada performing arts workers resilience fund was a positive step for sector resilience, we are far from the end of the crisis. This is why I called on the minister to convene a national conference on the future of art, because it is clear that we have to find a way to live with COVID. It is clear also that every industry is different and that we must develop a targeted approach to how we will support different sectors and how we will support the arts community. I will give an example. When the Province of Ontario initiated a lockdown in response to the omicron variant, the arts were lumped into the same bucket as sports arenas. It did not matter that when we were watching Come From Away or when I went to see The Nutcracker, I and other audience members were doing so quietly and we were masked. It did not matter that this was an experience vastly different from that of the Scotiabank Arena, where audiences are eating and drinking and cheering for the Raptors and the Leafs. Let me be clear. I know that everyone here will appreciate that this fell within provincial jurisdiction. However, it is federally, not just in funding but also in leading and in convening, that the government can take action because, unfortunately, the decimation to the arts community is sadly not just exclusively in my riding and not just in Ontario but all across Canada. This is why Canada needs, and again I reiterate my call for it, a national conference to forge the path forward on the future of art in our country. Like my hon. colleague, I have been at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, where we have heard from many witnesses about the need for this because of the crippling impact that COVID has had on their sector. In fact, quite a number of the witnesses whom the heritage committee has heard from were from my riding of Spadina—Fort York, such as Ms. Kendra Bator of Mirvish Productions and Ms. Barbara Diabo, chair of the grand council of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, to name but a couple. The statements provided by them and other witnesses were startling. The cost that COVID has levied on the Canadian arts community is alarming, and we must act, because the cost of inaction is not just on Canadian art and culture, which I would suggest is priceless; the price of inaction will mean jobs lost, local businesses continuing to be devastated, and forgone tax revenue. Let me share some of the stats that Kendra from Mirvish, which is our country's largest theatre production company, shared with the heritage committee. In 2019, over 1.8 million people attended a commercial theatre production. On tickets alone, audiences spent over $160 million, generating over $19 million in tax revenue. This does not even include a billion dollars spent on additional travel, hotels, restaurants, parking and retail. When people support the arts community, they are also supporting Canadian small businesses. When they support the arts community, they are also supporting Canadian tourism. When they support the arts community, they are supporting Canadian jobs and culture. Does my hon. colleague not agree that we have to take action and that the government must convene a national conference on the future of art?

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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22

Mr. Chris Bittle

Mar/1/22 6:53:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member sounds like what we hear from the Conservative Party saying that he wills COVID to be over and we should pick a date. That is not how this pandemic is happening. I know he attended a couple of heritage committee meetings and believes that he is an expert on the subject, but the reality of the situation is that COVID is real and COVID is there. We have been there at every step of the way to support our cultural workers. We will continue to do so. There is no need to set a date. We know it is pressing. As soon as it is possible to do so, we will host the summit. It is a priority for this government.

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