SoVote

May/19/22 10:54:28 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. We agree with several aspects of his analysis. However, when talking about a pandemic that caused many deaths, we must be responsible. Both sides must avoid politicizing—in the least noble sense of the word—a debate like this one. I sat with my colleague on the Standing Committee on Health. Earlier, he said that we should go back to the way things were before the pandemic, but I would like to qualify that statement. We know that the world's population is far from fully vaccinated. As long as vaccination rates are low and people are travelling, there is the potential for a variant that could completely compromise the benefits of vaccines, particularly in terms of the possibility of developing a severe form of the illness. I am sure my colleague agrees with me on this. In any case, I hope he will mention that. The tourism industry's GDP has dropped 50%. This is serious. We have been asking, but the government has yet to table a plan to lift the health measures to give some predictability to the tourism and airline industries and to the travelling public. How does my colleague explain that?

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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

May/19/22 12:11:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, since I have been in the House, I have often seen the Conservatives add something to the wording of their motion that makes it so that that only they will vote in favour of it, since it includes inaccurate information. It says here that, “Canada's international allies have moved to lift COVID-19 restrictions”, when one of the worst infection hot spots on the planet has been our neighbour to the south, with whom we share one of the longest borders in the world and who has not lifted restrictions at all. I would like to hear my colleague's comments about that being added to the motion when the Conservatives are looking for everyone's support.

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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

May/19/22 12:27:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway for his speech. I serve with him on the Standing Committee on Health, and what he said about the science is absolutely correct. It is clear that vaccination still protects against developing the serious form of the disease, which is why we must protect our health care systems. That is the main thing. However, does he not think that the government should eventually, for the sake of the tourism industry, present a progressive plan to lift the measures, even though we know full well that we are not in the endemic phase since the planet is not vaccinated?

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Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

May/19/22 2:02:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, May 19, we are celebrating World Family Doctor Day. I want to congratulate them all for the essential work they do at the heart of our health care system. Family doctors are the closest to patients, with whom they build personalized and lasting relationships focused on prevention. It takes a special person with a lot of empathy and compassion to play this role at the crossroads of medical science. They are on the front line and they deserve to be commended for the crucial role they play, especially after years of dealing with the pandemic and having to constantly adapt to new data with unending dedication. We need more of them, of course. To get there, the least we can do is start by sincerely thanking them. I thank family doctors from the bottom of my heart.

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