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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 66

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:38:07 a.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Manicouagan.
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Mrs. Marilène Gill (Manicouagan, BQ)
  • May/6/22 11:38:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Valéry Bélisle, a young woman from my riding, got in a serious car accident about 70 kilometres from the closest cell network. She had to extricate herself from the car on her own and wait on the side of the road for 30 minutes before a good Samaritan, Tony Jean, who I sincerely thank by the way, stopped and drove her to the hospital. The Minganie RCM in Manicouagan has no cell coverage for 420 kilometres, and this is the result. How many more accidents will it take before the minister puts pressure on the CRTC to finally grant the contracts necessary to complete—
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:38:49 a.m.
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Order. The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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Mr. Stéphane Lauzon (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:38:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. We know that Internet and cellular connectivity is very important for our safety in Quebec, in rural areas and on Route 138. The accident was most unfortunate. I am pleased that the victim was not seriously injured. As we speak, no other government has done as much as we have for Internet connectivity. The Internet is now also available with a cell network, and we will work on this until it is completed.
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Mrs. Marilène Gill (Manicouagan, BQ)
  • May/6/22 11:39:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is unacceptable that in 2022, people in distress, like Valéry Bélisle, still cannot reach emergency services. The lives of tourists, the Innu, and the people of Havre-Saint‑Pierre and Natashquan should not be a secondary consideration. Ottawa is responsible for telecommunications. It has an obligation to make this an essential service that is accessible everywhere. The CRTC is a year late in announcing who will be awarded the contract for setting up the cell network. Why? Can the minister finally announce who is getting the contracts for providing cell coverage along Route 138, between Sept‑Îles and—
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:39:28 a.m.
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Order. The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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Mr. Stéphane Lauzon (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:40:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we know there is a problem on Route 138, but this same problem exists all over Canada. During the pandemic, we realized just how important it is to have Internet and cell coverage all across the country. We have already made an exceptional commitment to get Quebec connected to the Internet with a 98% connectivity rate by September 2022, in partnership with the Government of Quebec. Work is ongoing, and we will continue until we have built an Internet network and a cell network.
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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)
  • May/6/22 11:40:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our airports are becoming famous for long lines, for continuous flight delays and for changing departure times. That is because the government is still imposing out-of-date, unscientific restrictions on travellers. Yesterday, Toronto's airports called for their elimination so that staffing actually goes where it is needed. Other countries have dropped these restrictions, while ours are expected to stay over the summer. Will the government stop trying to make our airports famous with their incompetence, and scrap the ineffective restrictions and vindictive mandates?
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Hon. Omar Alghabra (Minister of Transport, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:41:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as a traveller myself, and I know many of my colleagues here travel regularly, we are experiencing long lines and delays at airports— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:41:36 a.m.
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I am going to have to ask the minister to start over. I could not hear the answer to the question.
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Hon. Omar Alghabra
  • May/6/22 11:41:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Transport Canada officials have been working with CATSA, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, leadership to ensure actions are taken to resolve the staffing issues leading to these delays. I am meeting with the CEO of CATSA on Monday to discuss this. We are witnessing delays across all sectors of our economy that are a result of increasing demand imbalance in our economy. We are working with our partners to ensure that we respond to all of these delays and ensure that all resources necessary are available. We want to make sure that travellers who want to travel—
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:42:22 a.m.
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The hon. member for Thornhill.
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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)
  • May/6/22 11:42:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, regarding the decision to cling to restrictions and mandates, why is it such a secret? Will the minister tell the House, finally, what specific advice he is getting to keep them, when he got it last, and when he is going to get it next? Will he table that advice in the House for all Canadians, or will he continue to hide it from Canadians while they are stuck in line at Pearson?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:42:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the evidence is not secret. Everyone knows that vaccines save lives. In the United States, 165,000 lives would have been saved just during the omicron crisis if they had had a better vaccination uptake. One hundred and sixty-five thousand lives in the omicron crisis: that is 50% more people than in any one of our ridings in the House.
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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)
  • May/6/22 11:43:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the government has forgotten about its federal mandates, because every province is removing theirs. These mandates are preventing essential federal workers from doing their jobs. I spoke to an employee from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who was barred from providing the essential service of food inspection because the government would not let them. The Liberals do not care about science. They only care about division. When will the government end its outdated mandates?
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Hon. Mona Fortier (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:44:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic, we made a commitment to Canadians that we would protect their health and safety. We have done that. We will continue to do that, and we have put in place measures to protect workers and our communities. As circumstances change, we adjust these measures. We are currently reviewing the mandates, and we will come back to the House to report when these mandates will be reviewed.
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Mr. Rick Perkins (South Shore—St. Margarets, CPC)
  • May/6/22 11:44:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we hear more responses with no answers from the government. The historic town of Lunenberg has taken a massive hit due to reduced tourism numbers, thanks to the pandemic. International cruise ships have finally returned to Nova Scotia's ports but for some reason, CBSA has not restarted services in Lunenburg, which means that passenger ships cannot dock in the town. There are seven other ports of entry in the province of Nova Scotia where CBSA has restarted services, but Lunenburg is left out. When will the minister boost the local Lunenburg economy, do the right thing and open the CBSA—
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 11:45:15 a.m.
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The hon. Minister of Public Safety.
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Hon. Marco Mendicino (Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • May/6/22 11:45:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his advocacy. My office is in close contact with both him and the community of Lunenburg. Over the course of the last number of weeks, I am pleased to report to all members in this chamber that CBSA has been reopening ports of entry to meet the increased demand around trade and travel. This is good news, and we will continue to work with all members to see that this progress continues.
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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)
  • May/6/22 11:45:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadian businesses pay huge rates on their credit card transactions, almost twice as much as fees in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In budget 2022, the government admitted that Canada's high credit card fees have been hurting small businesses, which were already hurt by the pandemic. The NDP has been calling for lower fees since back in Jack Layton's campaign over 10 years ago, and despite recognizing the problem, the Liberals keep talking about more talks. When will the Liberals actually crack down on excessive credit card transaction fees and help small businesses?
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