44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
- May/19/22 10:36:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am actually sad to answer this question, because I would hope that the member opposite would have a question related to what we are speaking about today and related to the punishment that the government has imposed on over four million Canadians who still cannot get into an airplane. There are 4,000 tests happening at an airport all day, and it is happening only in Canada.
I would hope that in the future, the member opposite would have a question that relates to something that is happening in the House today.
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- May/19/22 11:57:19 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member's speech on populism was very interesting, but I want to talk about what was happening, for example, this weekend in Montreal and at the airport. It is hard for constituents to understand. When they go to the airport and realize they need a mask, they have to go back to get a mask, and then they go through all these checks that they do not normally have to go through. How does the member explain to his constituents why, when they are outside of the airport, they do not need a mask, because the Quebec government says it is safe, but inside the airport they do?
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- May/19/22 12:57:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about a pregnant lady going to the airport with her kids. I came across an experience in Montreal where four ladies came to the gate and just missed their plane. One was a diabetic and she was in tears. She was begging to be let on the plane. She could see it. The reason she could not get on the plane is she spent three-and-a-half to four hours going through security.
What can we do to alleviate some of those concerns?
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- May/19/22 1:08:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the frustration that stems from most reasonable people in this chamber is about the fact that when a question is asked, what experts are you relying upon? What is the advice that has been given? Share that advice with Canadians. If you have reports or expert advice saying we cannot open this airport or we cannot remove restrictions and here is why, why not share it?
The fact of the matter is that they do not have it, and that is why they will not table it. If you had it, you would table it. Any reasonable person would, but we are not dealing with reasonable people or rationality. Why will they not table this advice now?
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- May/19/22 4:35:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, some of my constituents have concerns. The government has been slowly lifting some of the pandemic requirements, and that includes what is going on in terms of travel. The government knew that and anticipated it. On its website, it has put out information for the public as well.
To that end, the government should have anticipated that travel would escalate, and therefore that demand for services would increase, both at the airport, with people passing through, and at passport offices. However, we have chaos going on, and people are lined up for very long times and cannot get through. At passport offices in my own riding of Vancouver East, people have to tent overnight to try to get service.
How come the government did not anticipate that and ensure that adequate resources and staffing were in place?
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- May/19/22 5:06:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have to say that the issue this motion relates to is to address a lack of planning on the part of the government from the standpoint of it providing sufficient resources at the airport and, most especially, to address restrictions that are increasing processing times by up to four times what they otherwise would be. That is the root of the problem. That is precisely what we are asking the government to fix.
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- May/19/22 7:44:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is a very important question. I can say that we have been working with Moderna, Pfizer and other providers of vaccines from the beginning. I would just remind the member that when the pediatrics were approved, I was very happy to receive the first planeload in Hamilton, at the John C. Munro international airport. We had, within one week of the approval date, enough vaccines to vaccinate every child aged 5 to 11.
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