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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)

Mar/22/22 6:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I welcome this opportunity to follow up on my request of the Prime Minister to stop his unacceptable campaign of hate and divisiveness against ordinary Canadians. Now that the provinces are demonstrating the leadership that is so clearly lacking at the federal level regarding the mandates, it is time to start focusing on the deep wounds in Canadian society created by the Prime Minister. On February 15, 2022, the Liberal-NDP coalition issued a proclamation declaring a public order emergency. The anti-democratic, bouncy castle emergency order has been recognized around the world as a despicable, egregious violation of human rights. Canada's image has been so tarnished internationally that on March 7, the Prime Minister had to be snuck into the residence of the Prime Minister of Great Britain at 10 Downing Street through the servants' entrance. Dozens of protesters were at the front door chanting a slogan that has been banned in Canada from flags and protest signs on Ottawa's Parliament Hill. The purpose of the adjournment debate is to follow up on an incomplete response to a question posed during question period. I specifically asked why members of the Liberal Party refuse to condemn the racist act of wearing blackface. Canadians see the hypocrisy in the Prime Minister accusing others of being racist when the Prime Minister enjoys dressing up in costumes and in blackface to make fun of other people's cultures and skin colour. The Prime Minister's racist accusation is interpreted by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as the accusation in a mirror. This is the rhetorical practice of falsely accusing others of conducting, plotting or committing precisely the same transgressions as one plans to commit against them. The claim by the Prime Minister and his senior members in the Liberal Party that members of the “freedom convoy” were racists, misogynists and undesirables is a textbook example of demonizing and dehumanizing that comes by labelling certain groups in society as undesirable. The Prime Minister has a track record of accusing the “freedom convoy” participants of the very violations that he is perpetrating. I know that members of the Liberal-NDP coalition like conspiracy theories, but it was no conspiracy when a Quebec Liberal MP critiqued members of the party about the divisive rhetoric on vaccinations. He urged the government to keep in mind the fact that not everyone could earn a living from a MacBook at the cottage. Liberals need to accept that many Canadians believe those who disagree with them on policy matters are not wrong. They struggle to understand how those on the big government side of the political fence could possibly hold so many wrong-headed views. The trucker strike was brought about by widespread resentment of hysterical reporting throughout the pandemic by the Liberal-bought-off media. The attempted cancellation of anyone who dissented over lockdowns, whether for scientific grounds or civil liberty grounds, further exacerbated the problem. The accusation is a mere propaganda technique that has been used in non-genocidal and other forms of persecution committed against Jews, Blacks and first nations, among others. It is time to face some inconvenient truths about the Prime Minister. His behaviour is dividing our country. Being angry all the time is not demonstrating leadership.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 6:56:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we come out of the omicron wave, it is now important to take stock of where we are and to plan a more sustainable approach to our COVID‑19 management. Our goal from the start has been to minimize serious illness and overall deaths, while minimizing societal disruption. That remains unchanged. As the omicron wave continues to recede, we need to recognize that COVID is not just going to disappear. While we have learned a great deal over the course of the pandemic, there still remains much uncertainty. Our health system has been significantly strained throughout this pandemic. While there is variability in how jurisdictions across the country are assessing risks and adjusting their approaches, we will continue to recommend some individual public health measures in the near term, such as wearing masks in indoor public settings, while continuing to use vaccines and therapeutics as cornerstones of our response. The vaccination rate in Canada is high, but it is still possible to improve our protection. As of March 13, 2022, more than 84% of Canadians had received at least one dose, more than 81% had received two doses and roughly 17 million Canadians had received a booster. Individuals who have received an additional dose are highly protected against hospitalization. As of February 27, 2022, less than 8% of hospitalizations were among individuals fully vaccinated with an additional dose. Thanks to Canadians' adherence to public health measures and high rates of vaccination, including booster doses, our outlook for the next several months continues to improve. As Canada emerges from this wave with vaccines widely available and higher levels of immunity because of prior infection, the focus of planning will shift toward recovery. Individual public health measures, along with vaccines and therapeutics, will remain key in protecting individuals should a virulent and highly transmissible variant of concern emerge again. Studies have also shown that the timely implementation of public health measures will result in fewer hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, less demand on health care services and a reduced need for other more restrictive population-based measures that may result in significant societal disruption in workplaces, for example. Business closures, school closures and other closures will continue to be reduced as a result. The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with its provincial and territorial partners to plan for the adoption of a more sustainable approach to intervening with respect to the continued presence of the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus. Given the uncertainty, nimble approaches will be required as government-imposed restrictive measures are lifted. Nationally, we are seeing reported cases levelling off, while severe outcomes, like hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, are continuing to decline. While this is encouraging, there is still the potential for severity indicators to increase again as the provinces and territories begin relaxing their public health measures. For these reasons, it is important that all Canadians continue to update their vaccine protection and make choices that reduce the risks of COVID-19 for themselves and their loved ones. A longer-term, more sustainable approach as we manage this virus will leverage all tools to balance the need to manage COVID-19 against minimizing societal disruption and enabling recovery. I would like to finish by reaffirming that this pandemic has demonstrated that we need a range of measures in our public health tool box to continue to fend off highly infectious diseases.

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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant

Mar/22/22 7:00:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is time to put a muzzle on the Gerald Butts of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party has been sending Canadians down the road of American-style politics for years. His American advisers from the U.S. Democratic Party have seen to that. For the sake of Canadian unity, the Prime Minister has to put a muzzle on his disgraced former secretary barking attack dog. His attacks on Twitter are hate speech against Christians. The Liberal socialist-funded anti-Canadian hate network labels Catholics as hateful. The campaign of hatred must stop. That the Prime Minister would use his AIM technique to level false claims against other Canadians proves that members of the “freedom convoy” were right to be fearful about the future of democracy in Canada.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Mar/22/22 7:01:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are cautiously optimistic about the near-term trajectory for our country. We know that multiple layers of protection, including vaccination, protect us against severe health outcomes from COVID-19. Getting as many Canadians fully vaccinated and boosted as possible while continuing to adhere to individual public health measures is expected to help us get through this phase of uncertainty. Jurisdictions will continue to adjust public health measures as required to manage a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. While vaccination does not give us full immunity from infection, it does prevent us from getting very sick and prevents the potential need for hospitalization. Across the country, unvaccinated individuals who get COVID are four times more likely to be hospitalized than fully vaccinated individuals, and they are 11 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who have received an additional dose. The incentive for vaccines is evident. They protect us from severe illness and lessen the burden on our strained health care systems.

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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Mar/22/22 7:02:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by sharing with you about Hayden and his mom Rebecca from my community. Hayden was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome with epilepsy and microcephaly. When Hayden was a child, he and Rebecca had access to various supports, including the disability tax credit and assistance for children with severe disabilities. His mom describes him as the most smiley, happiest, chattiest boy. When he turned 18, though, the supports his mom received dropped off like a cliff. The first three months, while waiting for the Ontario disability support program, they had no support at all. Then when ODSP did kick in, with nothing provided retroactively, it provided not nearly enough and very little supplemental for Hayden's additional needs. As an example, Hayden required a particularly special diet, for which they put in a request for an additional $1,000 a month, a request that was never approved. His mom, as a result, had to go about making impossible choices about what had to go and what could stay. For example cans of Ensure, a necessary supplement for Hayden's diet, were ratcheted way back. Hayden went downhill fast. Within a year, this past December, Hayden passed away. His mom describes her relationship with various government entities as like being in an abusive relationship. She shared with me that all she wanted were basic human rights. There were not enough funds provided even for a funeral, so they had a simple visitation instead. From this, Rebecca still owes $3,000. She is slowly paying it down. As a country, we let Hayden down. We let Rebecca down. There are so many others across the country. In fact, Rebecca herself has spoken with four other parents, each with similar devastating stories. We could choose to do so much better for them and for all Canadians across the country with disabilities. It is why the Canada disability benefit would be so critical, a guaranteed livable income for Canadians with disabilities. It is no wonder it is already supported by 89% of Canadians. Is there much of anything that 89% of us can all agree on? We know Canadians with disabilities are disproportionately living in poverty across the country. Over 40% of those living in poverty would be brought up through this support. We need to not only fast-track the Canada disability benefit, but also ensure that Canadians with disabilities are involved every step of the way, as we have been hearing, not only from individuals and organizations in my community but also from folks right across the country. There is a recent petition that secured almost 18,000 signatories, each of whom are just looking for a glimmer of hope. Can the minister share the progress made in working to fast-track the Canada disability benefit? As Rebecca would say, everybody has a Hayden. Every day that we wait for the Canada disability benefit, we risk losing another Hayden. This legislation would save lives, and it is far past time we get it done.

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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.)

Mar/22/22 7:06:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the tragic story of Hayden and Rebecca hurts all of our hearts deeply. This story is the centre of our work. It is what drives our work each and every single day. My friend and colleague, the member for Kitchener Centre, raises the important issue of how the Government of Canada is supporting our most vulnerable. I want the House to know that we are working on setting up the Canadian disability benefit. In her mandate letter that was published on December 16, 2021, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion was instructed to move forward with our campaign platform commitment for the design, introduction and implementation of a Canada disability benefit act and a Canada disability benefit for low-income working-age persons with disabilities. The need for this benefit is clear. Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, Canadians with disabilities continue to face persistent barriers to full economic and social participation. Prior to the pandemic, the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability painted a troubling picture of economic disparity. At the time of the survey, working-age Canadians with disabilities were over two times more likely to be living in poverty than the general population, at 21% to 11%. The situation is even worse for those with more severe disabilities and for women, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2 and racialized Canadians with disabilities. Over the past year, the global pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the entrenched inequities faced by Canadians with disabilities. A recent survey tabled by this very member, the member for Kitchener Centre, showed that two-thirds of respondents with disabilities indicated that they were having difficulties meeting their financial obligations or essential needs as a result of the pandemic. I might add that it was a survey garnering almost 18,000 signatures. The Canada disability benefit would address these inequities head-on. It would reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities, but we cannot say much yet about some of the specific aspects of the benefit, and that is because we want to engage provinces and territories to ensure the benefit supplements, rather than replaces, existing benefits and income, so in the spirit of “nothing without us”, we are engaging persons with disabilities and the disability community directly in the design of the benefits. That is essential. Canadians with disabilities know better than anyone what economic obstacles they face and what supports they need to achieve financial security. We know Canadians with disabilities are eager to see these benefits implemented, and we now have a golden opportunity to move forward with a postpandemic recovery that includes people with disabilities. I thank the member for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents and on behalf of Hayden and Rebecca and their legacy.

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Mr. Mike Morrice

Mar/22/22 7:10:07 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-35

Mr. Speaker, my question in reply is simply, “When?” We know that the previous bill, Bill C-35, was introduced in the last parliamentary session two months before the election. In the time since, 43 senators have joined the call and signed on, asking that we fast-track this critical support. Knowing there is so much existing support within the governing party, knowing there is support in the other place and, most importantly, knowing that Canadians with disabilities across the country have been calling out for years and that organizations like Disability Without Poverty have been doing such critical convening to bring that voice to government, can the parliamentary secretary share when this legislation will be reintroduced in this place? If not, what more is required to demonstrate how critical it is for exactly that to happen?

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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk

Mar/22/22 7:11:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member's question is well timed, and I share his urgency on this issue. The Government of Canada has been there for persons with disabilities throughout the pandemic, and we are still there for them. Our response to the pandemic took people with disabilities into consideration. We provided money to support seniors and students with disabilities. We funded a one-time tax-free non-reportable payment of up to $600 to help persons with disabilities weather the crisis, and since the beginning of this benefit in October 2020 and until December 2021, Service Canada issued payments to 1.75 million individuals, for a total value of $815 million. Now we are in the process of mapping out a disability inclusion action plan, which includes financial relief through a Canada disability benefit. The benefit has the potential to help hundreds of thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities and their families. I thank the member again for his advocacy and his sense of urgency on behalf of his constituents.

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The Deputy Speaker

Mar/22/22 7:12:21 p.m.
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The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7:12 p.m.)

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