44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
- May/19/22 11:20:08 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, numerous constituents of mine have asked me if I know when the government plans to lift the restriction on unvaccinated Canadians from accessing air travel, given the current evidence on transmission. I noticed a recent article from Dr. Zain Chagla in The Globe and Mail, suggesting that the current restriction makes no sense.
I understand that the mandate is under review by the government, so I wonder this. Could the parliamentary secretary indicate to the House when that review will be complete, and how the results of that review will be communicated, both to this place and to all Canadians?
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 11:37:46 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think it is difficult to make comparisons, even within Canada. The provinces did not all have the same measures in place. Quebec was the last to lift the mask mandate. I think that it really listened to Quebeckers, while monitoring the number of cases and the number of deaths. Although these numbers are dropping, they are still high.
If we had lifted the mask mandate and other measures too quickly, we might have faced another wave. That was the case in recent months; each time we thought we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, another wave hit. I think we need to listen to what public health has to say. To a certain extent, that is what the government did. Is an update needed? Yes, absolutely. I think that we have reached that point. However, that is different from saying we need to lift all measures right now. I think it is a bit too soon, despite the fact that, as I mentioned, we are all tired of the measures.
176 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 4:21:38 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, as far as I can see with the provinces, the experts at the provincial level have said that we do not need to have a mask mandate any longer and that it is a personal choice. If the member wants to wear a mask, I am totally fine with that, but I think it needs to go both ways. We need to have respect for each other, continue to follow advice we hear from public health officials who say we do not need to have these mandates any longer.
What we really do have a problem with in this place is a real Liberal leadership crisis problem. That is the biggest problem right now. They are not showing leadership on this. They need to do the right thing and drop all the mandates.
135 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 7:02:19 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, at present, we see that defence procurement for major projects is rather complex and we understand this complexity.
That is why, in his 2019 mandate letters for the then Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Minister of Defence, the Prime Minister included the creation of an organization whose sole focus would be defence procurement.
This was missing in the 2021 mandate letters. I would like to know whether it is still being contemplated, and, if not, why it was overlooked.
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 8:19:41 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, we have taken action on forced labour. We take the allegations very seriously. We have implemented clauses in our contracts. We have a code of conduct that has to be signed. In fact, we are one of two countries, the U.S. and us, that have expanded CUSMA obligations with respect to forced labour to all imports.
We have taken action. We take this seriously. It is in four ministers' mandate letters. I look forward to moving forward and supporting the Minister of Labour as he leads on the legislation for the eradication of forced labour.
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 8:39:50 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, what I would say is that we have implemented a number of measures in this regard to eradicate forced labour. Four ministers have mandate commitments in their mandate letters to move forward with the eradication of forced labour.
For me, in PSPC, I am going to do everything I can to prevent forced labour in the supply chains. We have made progress and we are going to continue to move forward.
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 8:40:18 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, the minister notes promises in mandate letters to bring forward future legislation. We do not have a timeline around that legislation, when it comes in, but meanwhile we are purchasing products from companies where our allies have already noticed and said that there is a problem with forced labour in their supply chain.
Minister, that simply is not good enough.
Does the government purchase any products at all that are produced in Xinjiang?
75 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:34:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I appreciate those commitments. The UN Secretary-General has made clear that new fossil fuel infrastructure at this point in the climate emergency is moral and economic madness, yet the Government of Canada now estimates that the Trans Mountain pipeline and the expansion will cost $21.4 billion, including the completion of the expansion of the pipeline.
Meanwhile, the minister's mandate letter includes “a new Buy Clean Strategy to support and prioritize the use of made-in-Canada low-carbon products in Canadian infrastructure projects.”
How does the $21.4 billion spent buying and expanding this pipeline fit into this “buy clean” strategy?
110 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:41:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, does the minister agree that it is within her mandate to work with Canada Post to develop a postal banking system?
23 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:42:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I believe it is in my mandate to work with Canada Post to deliver services that Canadians need and to continue to ensure that those services are delivered in a way that allows Canada Post to be self-sustaining.
41 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:44:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, does the minister recall this quote from her mandate letter?
Ensure that Canada Post provides a high quality of service that Canadians expect at a reasonable price and better reaches Canadians in rural and remote areas. You will be supported in this work by the Minister of Rural Economic Development.
52 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:44:23 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, yes. In fact, I have had conversations with the Minister of Rural Economic Development. I recognize that that is in my mandate letter. It is one of the reasons why we have conducted surveys in order to get information from the public to determine what services are important to them and assist Canada Post to deliver those services.
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:44:42 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I will quote another sentence in the mandate letter:
You will also leverage the government's purchasing power to increase access to economic opportunity for a greater diversity of Canadians.
Does the minister recall that as well?
39 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:44:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, yes, I do. I was very pleased to see that in my mandate letter.
16 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:45:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, we absolutely want to work with Canada Post. We actually did that survey in order to hear from Canadians. The member read from my mandate letter. It talks about the services that are important to Canadians. We need to know what those services are. That was the reason for the survey. We want to get that information so that as we move forward, Canada Post is able to deliver services that Canadians value and need.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/19/22 10:50:40 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, Canada's target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 requires substantial carbon reductions across all economic sectors. Changing how we look at public infrastructure can unlock previously overlooked pollution-reduction opportunities while supporting Canadian manufacturers and creating the conditions for them to thrive in the low-carbon global marketplace.
This government committed to buy clean in the last election, and creating a buy clean strategy was identified as a priority in the mandate letters of three ministers. However, creating a buy clean strategy is not mentioned in the minister's departmental plan for 2022-23. Can she speak to that?
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
