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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 46

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 25, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 46 - Mar/25/22
Ms. Andréanne Larouche
  • Mar/25/22 10:31:53 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-8 
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It gives me an opportunity to come back to something that I was only able to talk about briefly, and that is help for sectors that will continue to be affected for quite some time because of the pandemic. My colleague is right that this program dates back to December, before the arrival of the omicron variant. That seems like a lifetime ago because a lot has happened since then. Since we are talking about tourism, I would say that we are coming to the realization that we still have a long road to travel. That is why I talked about the importance of having more flexible, more tailored programs for sectors like tourism and cultre that are still going to be affected for quite some time. In committee, we asked the following question: Can we get resources to provide more support to self-employed workers in the cultural industry? We were told that it was too complicated technically speaking. In 2022, can we find solutions, provide support and show some flexibility in order to help them? Yesterday, members of the Bloc Québécois talked a lot about the importance of predictability. While attending meetings of the Haute‑Yamaska RCM's strategic business intelligence committee, I noted that this is what tourism operators are calling for. The Government of Quebec and the provincial governments have a plan for lifting restrictions, but the federal government does not. It is important for businesses to be able to plan ahead. These are measures that Ottawa could do something about in order to help these sectors, which will continue to be affected by the pandemic for quite some time.
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Context: House Hansard - 46 - Mar/25/22
Mr. Ben Lobb
  • Mar/25/22 10:44:54 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-8 
Madam Speaker, I thank the always cheerful member from across the way for the question. I would say that times have changed. Obviously, the economic realities of 2020, two years ago, to today are different. The Liberals are still stuck in 2020 time. I hear the health minister every day get up and talk, but that is not what the reality is. The reality today is that small businesses want to be open, restaurants want to be open and the tourism industry wants to be open. We see this even at the airport and crossing at the border with ArriveCAN. How many members of Parliament have constituents who have issues with ArriveCAN? It is time to realize that it is 2022, and we have to get the economy open and support small business.
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