44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/22/22 2:57:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, I find it a bit rich on the part of the Conservatives, as they reduced their military spending below 1% when they were in government, which was the lowest in 60 years.
Of course, it will be a pleasure to work with my colleague, because the question of Ukraine is not a partisan question. It is a question that should unite us while people are—
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- Mar/22/22 2:58:21 p.m.
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The hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.
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- Mar/22/22 2:58:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom, their democracy and even their lives. They have asked for more help from Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces are in the process of divesting many armoured vehicle fleets, such as the Coyote, M113 and Bison armoured vehicles, as they are replaced by the armoured combat support vehicle project.
Could these vehicles be donated to Ukraine? If so, when?
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- Mar/22/22 2:58:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Canadian Armed Forces for its ongoing and historic work to protect our country and contribute to our world. I would like to say in addition that we have contributed lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank missiles, grenades and fragmentation vests, and we will continue to provide millions and millions of dollars' worth of aid to Ukraine.
In terms of the suggestion, I look forward to working with my hon. colleague to get more details on his suggestion so that we can take it forward. We will continue to leave no stone unturned to assist Ukraine.
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- Mar/22/22 2:59:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois supports some of the government's efforts to facilitate the intake of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Now that the minister has invited all these families to come here, he has no right to let them languish in refugee camps for weeks or even months. What these families are going through is profoundly traumatic. They need to be reassured. They need to hear from the Government of Canada that planes are coming to pick them up, and they need to know when.
When will the minister charter flights to airlift them out?
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- Mar/22/22 3:00:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and particularly for his co‑operation on the Ukraine file. It is possible for all parties to work with our government.
We are prioritizing Ukrainian applications. Since January, more than 10,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada. Last week, I announced new measures that will make it easier and faster for Ukrainians to come to Canada safely.
I will continue to work with my colleagues to make it easier to welcome as many Ukrainians as possible to Canada.
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- Mar/22/22 3:00:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister knows he can count on us to co-operate, but we need to see some action. People do not understand why no air operations have begun with chartered flights to bring refugees to Canada. Air Transat has even indicated that it is willing to take part if the government wants to organize such an operation.
If even the airlines are willing, can the minister announce today that this operation will indeed take place?
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- Mar/22/22 3:01:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are working with our partners, including the provinces and territories, the business community, the Ukrainian-Canadian community and settlement agencies, on how best to support those arriving from Ukraine. I have had conversations on this issue with the private sector and I spoke with the European Commission just before question period.
I will continue my work to facilitate the arrival of more Ukrainians in Canada through the special program.
It is an emergency. We are treating it as such and we are going to continue to work to welcome as many people here as quickly as possible, as safely as possible.
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- Mar/22/22 3:02:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the health minister told the committee that the government had a plan for every possible policy related to its continued mandates, but he repeatedly refused to share the government's plan to end the mandates. I want to give him another chance right now.
The provinces have shown leadership and are all moving on from COVID mandates. Will the minister tell Canadians on which date the Liberal-NDP government will end the COVID mandates?
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- Mar/22/22 3:02:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his collaboration on the health committee.
Today we know more about COVID-19 than ever before, and we are in a very different place than we were in March 2020. We have safe, effective vaccines and a highly vaccinated population as well as testing and surveillance tools and new ways to identify variants of concern to track the spread of the virus. However, the future remains uncertain, and COVID-19 is not over. There are many factors at play, and our government is committed to following the science going forward to get out of this pandemic for good.
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- Mar/22/22 3:03:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the parliamentary secretary says that the government is going to follow the science, then he should do that, just like the 10 chief medical officers of health have done in every single provinces in this country. They are all ending the mandates, so we want to know what the benchmarks are. What are the data points that this government is going to use to end the mandates?
The government does not need to end the mandates today if it has a plan, but the problem is that it does not have a plan. The Liberals are putting politics first. They are dividing Canadians and dividing communities. When will they put politics aside, end the division, look to the science, follow the leadership of the provinces and their chief medical officers of health, and end the federal mandates?
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- Mar/22/22 3:03:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for acknowledging that my answer was both thorough and good. I also want to acknowledge that he asked some pretty good questions yesterday in committee, and I thought the answers that the minister gave him were excellent.
This is a very complex issue, and our government is going to keep making decisions based on the best science. We also understand that there are two jurisdictions; there are provincial jurisdictions and there are federal ones. The provinces will make decisions accordingly with their health officials, and we will make our decisions based on the exact same science with our health officials.
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- Mar/22/22 3:04:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they might be based on political science, but certainly not medical science.
Yesterday, when the health minister was asked to explain when federal mandates would be taken off, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, COVID is still here”. No benchmarks have been set, no plan has been put in place and no assurances have been given as to when we return to normal. This is absolutely irresponsible of the government. Provinces can do it. Other countries can do it. Why can Canada not do it? When will the Prime Minister follow the science—the real science—lift the mandates and give Canadians their freedom back?
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- Mar/22/22 3:05:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to address the question from my colleague and the entire Conservative caucus, which is unmasked today and is pretending that COVID-19 is completely over.
I am sorry, but we cannot “wish” the pandemic to be over. We have to follow the science, and our government is committed to following that science.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
An hon. member: Put your mask on.
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- Mar/22/22 3:05:28 p.m.
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I am waiting for a certain level and then we will keep going.
The parliamentary secretary.
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- Mar/22/22 3:05:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will put my mask on as soon as I sit back down, like the rest of my colleagues who are committed to following the science. This pandemic is not over. Canadians—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/22/22 3:06:05 p.m.
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Can we just wait until after question period is done? We can then go out and run around or do something.
I am going to give the member an opportunity to respond.
The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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- Mar/22/22 3:06:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want this pandemic to be over as soon as possible, just like every other member of this House. I continue to follow the science and my colleagues have continued to follow the science, and we will ensure that we get through this pandemic. However, the thing I cannot get over is the fact that over 5,000 Canadians are in the hospital right now with COVID-19, and our colleagues across do not seem to care.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/22/22 3:06:56 p.m.
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Well, we are not done yet. We have about 10 questions left. Are we ready?
The hon. member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel.
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- Mar/22/22 3:07:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal, and the Government of Canada announced the new version and reconfiguration of the Montreal metro blue line extension project. This project has been highly anticipated by the metropolitan community for several decades.
Can the hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec lieutenant explain to the House how the federal government is supporting Quebeckers in a meaningful way in this initiative?
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