44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2022 02:00PM
- May/18/22 2:54:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Whitby for his hard work.
Millions of dollars' worth of our aid has arrived in the Ukraine and is making a critical difference on the ground. To support our European allies, the Royal Canadian Air Force's C-130s have now moved two million pounds of military and humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine across the European continent, and this work continues every single day. As Ukrainian heroes fight back against Putin, we will continue to help them win this war.
Slava Ukraini.
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:55:12 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, let us be clear, this Prime Minister has called everyone on this side of the House, just now, a racist. This is shameful. It is not a thing that should happen in this House. It is shameful. It is no surprise that many Canadians continue to reject his federal mandates.
We know this is a cabinet decision. We know that makes it this Prime Minister's personal decision to punish his political opponents. Not allowing families to reunite is deeply hurtful and is tantamount to ostracism and political vindictiveness. What is next to go for those who will not conform, those he has described as taking up space? Which rights will the Prime Minister trample on next?
119 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:55:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic, we made a very straightforward promise to Canadians that we would have their backs and that we would follow the science to keep them safe. That is exactly what we have done.
The Conservative Party has been all over the place, shouting that we needed to deliver vaccines faster and then ignoring the need for vaccines once they arrived. They continue to want to wish this pandemic away.
However, magical thinking does not save lives in Canada. It does not restore small businesses. It does not grow our economy and get people back to work. That is why we continue to follow the science. We continue to keep Canadians safe.
118 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:56:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister talks about science. Let us talk about what the truth is.
Let us imagine that we are living in a country that singles out 15% of its population for special treatment. That means mocking their personal decisions, calling them names and telling them they are taking up space. Let us further imagine that their freedom to move around this very large country is also taken away.
Why are they being singled out? It is because they made a personal health decision.
Should other world leaders call out the Prime Minister for this vindictive behaviour? They certainly should. This behaviour is petty and petulant, and it must stop. On which day will Canada return to normal?
120 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:57:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the question from the hon. member might be a little more convincing if the member for Cumberland—Colchester had not just said, a few weeks ago, in this House, that the vaccine mandates had the important purpose of keeping Canadians safe. He agreed that we had to have them in place while the pandemic was going on.
As all Canadians know, this pandemic has not yet ended. Canadians are still dying in larger numbers than they did previously during the pandemic. We need to continue to do what is necessary to keep them safe. That is exactly what this government will continue to do.
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:58:12 p.m.
- Watch
I just need to remind folks that questions are 35 seconds or so.
The hon. member for Thornhill.
18 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:58:16 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, international arrivals at Canadian airports are so backed up that people are being kept on planes for hours after they land because there is not enough space for the long lineups.
The Prime Minister's minister blames travellers, and the world has embraced restriction-free travel. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Airports Council and now health experts are telling the government that its outdated COVID restrictions have to go.
Who is actually telling the government to keep those restrictions?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:58:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, over the past months, Canadians continue to die at a higher rate than during the first two years of COVID-19. The pandemic is still with us. We need to continue to do what is necessary, based on science, to keep people safe.
In regard to airport delays, we are hiring about 400 additional security screeners; we have added 25 kiosks at Pearson airport to speed up processing times, and we have increased overtime available to officers. It is a good thing Canadians are starting to travel again, and we will be there to support them. However, we are also going to continue to keep Canadians safe.
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:59:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the answer is nobody, except for the spin doctors in the Liberal cabinet.
Instead of telling Canadians they are out of practice, he could bring back the workers they fired; he could stop the 4,000 tests for incoming travellers each day, and he could do what most other countries have done and end the restrictions. Why is the Prime Minister doing nothing?
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 2:59:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we continue to evaluate and re-evaluate the measures we have to keep Canadians safe, and we will continue to do exactly that.
Canada put in place measures that kept us on a better track through this pandemic than most of our peer countries. We will continue to make sure we are keeping Canadians safe, not just for the sake of keeping Canadians alive and healthy, which is in itself a noble goal, but also because that is the best way to restore our economy and our functioning, which is exactly what we are seeing with what the government has done to support small businesses and families across the country.
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:00:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we need an organized crime registry to combat the gang wars in the greater Montreal area. This registry would make it easier for police officers to do their job because simply belonging to a criminal gang would become an offence.
The day before yesterday, the Minister of Public Safety agreed with the idea. Yesterday, he slammed the door on it. Today, what does the Prime Minister have to say about it? While the federal government dithers, Montreal's shootings are beginning to resemble those of the biker wars in the 1990s. Today, we want a clear response. We are fed up.
Will the Prime Minister create the organized crime registry? Yes or no?
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:01:16 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, to put an end to gang violence, we must address the root causes of violence.
Since 2017, we have invested more than $358 million to enhance law enforcement and prosecution resources, to increase law enforcement and prevention training, and to fund local strategies for preventing and combatting violence. We also created the $250‑million building safer communities fund to prevent at-risk youth from committing crimes.
We take all of this seriously. We will continue with solutions that work.
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:02:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday, a member of the Hells Angels was killed in broad daylight in the Prime Minister's riding. He must realize that there is a gang problem in Montreal.
We need an organized crime registry that makes it a crime to be a gang member. It is simple. It is the same concept as the list of terrorist entities. Right now, belonging to a terrorist organization is a crime, but being a member of the Hells Angels or a street gang is A-okay, even though gangs are the ones doing all the shooting right now.
Why is the federal government giving them a free pass?
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:02:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it would be nice if we could apply such simplistic solutions to complex problems like street gangs and gun violence, but the reality is that the root causes and symptoms of each of these issues need to be addressed very differently. That is exactly what we are doing by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in communities in order to get tougher and give the police more tools to tackle gun violence.
We will continue to be there as we partner with the municipalities and provinces in the fight against crime.
93 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:03:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact. The cost of living is rising, businesses are having real supply chain issues and we are experiencing an unprecedented labour shortage. Another major problem is the huge rise in mental health issues.
This Liberal government must act now. Its 2022 budget is not enough. Will the Prime Minister commit to swiftly presenting a plan to protect our young people, among others, who have suffered a lot as a result of this crisis?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:03:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Conservative member for acknowledging that the pandemic is responsible for the rising cost of living and the supply chain issues. We will continue to be there to help families that are struggling.
At the same time, we will obviously be there to invest in addressing mental health issues. We will be there to support the mental health of young people. We have already made historic investments, and we will continue to work with the provinces, while, of course, respecting their jurisdictions, to implement mental health measures for young people.
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:04:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, four times in the past two weeks I have asked questions about the Canada mental health transfer, an election commitment quite obviously broken by the Liberal government. The minister never even pretended to attempt an answer.
Page 75 of the Liberal platform clearly promises immediate funding of $250 million and then another $625 million in this year's budget. There has to be an explanation as to why the Liberals broke this significant promise to vulnerable Canadians. Could the Prime Minister simply tell us what that explanation is?
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:05:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, over the course of the last two years we invested about $69 billion more than the federal government usually does in health care across the country, much of it transfers to provinces, much of it direct investments in things like vaccines and mental health programs, like the national wellness hotline and website.
There is much more to do and we will do that, but we will do that in full respect of the provinces' jurisdiction over health care and defining how we can move forward in a way that works for all Canadians. On this side of the House, we respect the division of powers laid out by the Constitution.
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:05:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, then why did they make the promise? The Prime Minister recently stood here and actually said, with a straight face, “We will not simply fall back on slogans and easy solutions....” Instead, with the current government, it is always only slogans and no solutions.
More than 30 times this year, including a couple of times today, the Prime Minister has responded to legitimate questions by shrugging them off and offering yet another mind-numbing reference to “having Canadians' backs”. On his signature promise of a Canada mental health transfer, he is turning his back on Canadians who really need help. Again, simply, why is he breaking his word on such an important commitment?
119 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/18/22 3:06:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I have said time and time again that we will be there to step up on investing more in health care, including on mental health, across the country, but that needs to be done right. It needs to be done in partnership with the provinces and territories. We cannot simply expect that throwing money at a problem is going to solve it in terms of delivery for Canadians. That is why we intend to work closely with the provinces in partnership on delivering better mental health care and on delivering better supports for Canadians, as we have throughout this pandemic with historic investments of over $69 billion in additional funding for health care.
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
