44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 5, 2022 10:00AM
- May/5/22 3:02:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government's failure to plan has prevented Canadians from being able to access basic government services. People cannot get through by phone or in person to Service Canada. In fact, the delays in passport processing have effectively ground Service Canada locations all across the country to a halt. It has become so dire that some people are charging upwards of $15 an hour to stand in line for people desperate to get an in-person appointment.
The Harper government introduced a 10-year passport. Has the Liberal government decided to introduce a 10-year wait-list?
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- May/5/22 3:03:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said before in the House, there is unprecedented demand when it comes to accessing passports. We have put a number of initiatives in place to help deal with this. We have a simplified process to replace expired passports. We have opened more client counters in passport offices. We have operated extended hours and used overtime in passport offices and processing and call centres. We have created three additional application processing centres, expanded passport intake in 303 Service Canada centres, hired 500 additional staff, continue to hire and train more and opened 12 offices over the weekend in the busiest centres around the country. We will continue to work really hard to ensure we are serving Canadians.
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- May/5/22 3:04:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite all that, the horrors of the out-of-service Service Canada office in Saskatoon continue.
Margaret is 86 years old and the nicest lady you can find. She was struggling to get through on the phone, so she went to the Saskatoon office in person. The staff refused to meet with her for not having booked an online appointment. Our seniors, and indeed all Canadians, deserve better than this.
Does the minister even have an ounce of compassion for Margaret and all the people being mistreated in Saskatoon because of the minister's lack of planning?
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- May/5/22 3:04:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course I have compassion for everyone across the country, because there is an unprecedented demand in accessing these services. I was in Saskatoon on Friday, in fact, and visited the Service Canada centre there. I spoke with the employees, who are working around the clock to address this unprecedented demand. They are working evenings, they are working weekends and they are doing everything they can to serve Canadians, but right now there are more Canadians than at any time ever before looking to renew their passports because they want to travel. We are going to do everything we can to serve them as best as possible.
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- May/5/22 3:05:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine from Kelowna—Lake Country did the right thing. She applied for a passport renewal in person at a passport office and was told by Service Canada staff that doing so two months before travelling was plenty of time. The passports never arrived and she will likely have to cancel her family trip at great cost and disappointment.
Service Canada told MPs that it expects lengthy passport delays. This is another mess from the government.
When will the minister provide clarity to my constituent and Canadians on passport processing?
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- May/5/22 3:06:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a frustrating process for many Canadians, but over the past two years many passports have expired, and with the lifting of restrictions many Canadians want to travel at the same time.
We are doing everything we can, and Service Canada employees are helping them. If there is an urgent request, they should make that known when they arrive at a Service Canada centre. They are ensuring that transfers happen. If there is an issue, they can call the call centre. Of course, MPs have access to a special regional inquiries unit that they can call, and Service Canada will assist as best as possible.
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- May/5/22 3:06:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, early 2022 was fraught with uncertainty for many farmers and they have faced many challenges in planning their operations.
Some of those challenges include increased drought and flooding, as well as outbreaks of livestock diseases, such as the avian flu.
Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell the House what is being done to help farmers manage these major risks?
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- May/5/22 3:07:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her support for the agricultural industry.
This spring was especially difficult for our farmers. In order to help them deal with the avian flu, in particular, we recently extended the AgriStability enrolment deadline from April 30 to June 30, which will enable more farmers to enrol in this important risk management program and ensure that they receive a minimum income in these uncertain times.
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- May/5/22 3:08:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with global supply chains struggling and a war in Ukraine, Canadian agriculture is more important than ever. Farmers in my riding are concerned that the Liberals want to meddle with the Pest Control Products Act, adding more red tape for them to deal with and favouring activism over science-based decisions. Our farmers have always been tremendous stewards of the environment.
What makes the NDP-Liberal government, or coalition, think that it has any expertise or right to tell our farmers how to feed the world?
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- May/5/22 3:08:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that we certainly do recognize that our farmers are firmly committed to taking care of our environment. Their land is their most precious possession.
We committed to reviewing the overall framework within which the Pest Management Regulatory Agency operates to make sure that it meets consumers' expectations, while recognizing that our farmers also need tools to ensure a good yield.
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- May/5/22 3:09:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, business owners from such sectors as manufacturing, agriculture or tourism are struggling to address the labour shortage. It is even worse for francophone business owners. On top of all of the red tape, they are having to wait up to 30 months, which is two and a half years.
Does the Minister of Immigration realize how much irremediable damage this is doing to our economy? What will he do right now to address this issue and show respect for our francophone entrepreneurs?
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- May/5/22 3:09:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
This is a very important question, because immigration is key to addressing the labour shortage. Once again, I would like to inform my colleague and the House that during the first quarter of 2022 we processed more than 100,000 work permits, which is nearly double the number of applications processed during that same period in 2021.
We will continue to ensure that employers in Quebec and Canada have access to the workers they need to participate in Canada's economic recovery.
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- May/5/22 3:10:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just last year, the NDP voted with the Conservatives, not just once but four times, for the production of the Winnipeg microbiology lab documents, which the Liberals have still failed to provide. Just last week in the foreign affairs committee, the NDP flip-flopped and voted with the Liberals to shut down the committee's inquiry, blocking production of those very same documents. What did the minister promise the NDP, to make it complicit in yet another Liberal cover-up?
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- May/5/22 3:11:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, those documents were made available through NSICOP. The Conservatives said they did not want to see them, so then we created a new process, through an MOU, to have an independent panel of jurists who would determine what could be made public and what could not, to protect national security. Did the Conservatives decide to participate? No, they did not, so I am confused. Do they want to see the documents or do they not? We have had two processes and two offers for them to see them. They continue to say no. It leads one to believe that they just want to play a partisan game and that it is all a big joke.
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- May/5/22 3:12:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my riding of Guelph continues to see significant growth in green technology and agriculture, sectors that we know are vital to Canada's economic prosperity, through organizations like Innovation Guelph and Bioenterprise. Can the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario inform the House about the measures our government is taking to support the economic growth in these sectors while enhancing the lives of those living in Guelph and Wellington County?
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- May/5/22 3:12:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from the riding of Guelph for his commitment to supporting job creation and economic growth in his riding.
I was pleased to visit Guelph last Friday to announce $10 million for green technology development through six regional innovation centres, as well as over $2.6 million in support for community revitalization and tourism projects for the people of Guelph and Wellington County. Our government will continue to make investments like these that grow our economy and improve the lives of Canadians.
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- May/5/22 3:13:18 p.m.
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I am hearing a lot of chatter here. I do not know what has been going on between questions. There is some friendly banter going on here, so maybe call it off.
The hon. member for Nunavut.
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Uqaqtittiji, one of the 231 calls for justice calls for the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The government committed to doing so in passing Bill C-15, but in courts this week, federal lawyers now say UNDRIP is only an important interpretative aid in the process for discussions. Which is it? Will the Minister of Justice stand to confirm that the rights of indigenous people in Canada are indeed substantive, as stated in UNDRIP?
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- May/5/22 3:14:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, UNDRIP is a foundational document that we feel will be transformative in restarting the reconciliation process and fulfilling the real promise of Canada, moving forward. I also point out that my predecessor minister of justice implemented a directive on litigation. We are doing our best every day to implement that directive. These are two measures that we feel will help build trust and help build the process of reconciliation as we move forward with implementing UNDRIP.
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- May/5/22 3:14:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we waited for over a year for the government to honour its commitment and promise to the arts community to hold a national arts summit. We have seen the visceral economic and societal damage that this delay has wreaked upon workers. I called for it in February, and then I called for it again in March. Finally, the government got around to it.
Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage share with us what came out of the summit? What concrete action can we expect to see, and what can I tell my constituents who have lost their jobs and their livelihoods? Will we see real action, or was the year-long delay just for lip service?
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