44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/6/22 2:51:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand and answer the question from my colleague, who has been great to collaborate with on the health committee.
I do not have any data in front of me with respect to ferries, but I am happy to look it up for him. I would also like to say that right now Nova Scotians are 65.7% triple vaccinated, so there is still room for improvement. I hope my colleagues opposite will continue to consider encouraging their constituents to get a third dose, because that is the best way to protect us and our communities from COVID‑19.
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- Jun/6/22 2:51:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should sit on that side as a minister, because the rules are very easy to find. They say that for essential travel under 24 hours on a Marine Atlantic ferry, unvaccinated people can access ferries. Why air travel is different from marine ferry travel I do not know. There are no 24-hour flights inside of Canada, nor indeed around the world. Sadly, this indicates clearly that the ongoing mandates for air travel are only vindictive political punishment.
When will the Prime Minister allow Canadians to return to prepandemic normal?
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- Jun/6/22 2:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, the travel vaccine mandates have been changing over the last seven or eight months. They change regularly. They are constantly reviewed and are all subject to looking at various considerations.
I have to say that in the last month alone, 1,700 Canadians died from COVID‑19. It is important to recognize that as much as we want COVID‑19 to be over, it is not there yet.
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- Jun/6/22 2:53:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been months and the fiasco at our airports continues. Believe it or not, it is getting worse. There are more cancelled flights, longer lineups, more delays and lost economic activity, and our international reputation is in jeopardy. The minister blames travellers and is telling us that things are just as bad in other countries. Despite all the chaos, experts are saying that dropping the restrictions and mandates must happen to clear the backlogs.
The government is keeping these unjustified federal mandates in place until June 30. If experts are already telling it to drop the virtue signalling, what happens on July 1?
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- Jun/6/22 2:53:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is right about one thing: We are seeing delays at airports across the entire world. We are seeing an increased demand and appetite for people who want to travel, and the supply is trying to catch up. However, we are not resting until we fix these delays. We have increased resources at CATSA, CBSA and airports. We are working with airports, airlines and all stakeholders and will do everything we can to ensure that travellers have a smooth experience.
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- Jun/6/22 2:54:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is playing catch-up by hiring a fraction of those who were fired because of these mandates. The information disclosed by the government revealed that it failed to spend nearly a quarter of CATSA's budget last year, despite record lineups, delays and staffing shortages at our airports.
We know that the Liberal vaccine mandate is keeping millions from flying. Are domestic travel restrictions being kept in place because the government does not want to deal with additional travellers, or is it just a way of punishing Canadians who do not agree with it?
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- Jun/6/22 2:55:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are going through an identity crisis. They do not know what policies they support and what policies they oppose. The only thing they know is they want to inflame anger and frustration. They have no idea how to address the current challenges we have.
Our government is a responsible government. We are working with stakeholders, airports, airlines, CATSA and the CBSA, and are offering real, concrete solutions to address these issues. Our government is on the job while all the Conservatives can do is yell and scream with no ideas.
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- Jun/6/22 2:55:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are outraged about having to wait so long to get their passports.
Even for emergency services, they are waiting in line for hours, only to be sent home. People are even camping out in front of the passport offices to make sure they get a place in line.
Passports are not concert tickets. This is a public service paid for by tax dollars. Will the government at least open its points of service on weekends to deal with urgent cases at no extra cost?
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- Jun/6/22 2:56:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
As we know, this is an unprecedented time, when many Canadians want to travel at the same time. Many passports expired over the past two years, and we are in the process of ensuring that Canadians can travel because we know that is what they want to do.
As I have already mentioned in the House, many offices across the country are open in the evening and on Saturdays. We are doing what we can to provide this service to Canadians.
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- Jun/6/22 2:56:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the number of passport applications is definitely high. There was a travel ban for two years. Anyone could have seen this increase coming, except for this government. Once again the government is not proactive; it is reactive.
This crisis could have been avoided, but it is too late. Will the government fix this mess by temporarily opening offices on the weekends, free of charge, for people leaving the country within 48 hours?
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- Jun/6/22 2:57:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is really reassuring to hear the Bloc talk about Canadian passports. We are in the process of hiring more employees. Since January, 600 employees have been hired. We are now hiring another 600, and 600 Service Canada employees are being redeployed to ensure that we can better respond to Canadians' needs.
We will continue to change the process because we know that it is important for all Canadians across the country to have access to their passports.
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Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer tabled a study on the estimated cost of implementing Bill C‑13 on official languages.
Treasury Board, Canadian Heritage and IRCC refused to provide the PBO with their planned expenditures for implementing this bill.
This is public money. It is money given to us by our citizens. This is a question of transparency and integrity.
What are they trying to hide?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I also want to thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his work.
Our modernization of the Official Languages Act is still being debated in Parliament, and it is customary to wait until a bill is officially passed before drafting any accompanying regulations. That is particularly important in a minority Parliament.
We look forward to passing the bill as soon as possible. Once again, we hope that all opposition parties will work with us to ensure that it receives royal assent soon.
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Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that the Conservatives will work in support of the French language.
Not a week goes by without us hearing a story about this government's contempt for official languages. Last Thursday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed that, in response to his inquiries, three departments refused to disclose their planned expenditures pertaining to the modernization of official languages. This was this first time that this officer of the House of Commons has not gotten a response.
What excuse does the Prime Minister have this time?
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
As I said, Bill C-13 is now before the House of Commons and committee. Committees have important work to do.
Before the bill receives royal assent, we need to do all the work to ensure that it receives royal assent. Afterwards, we can implement the bill, absolutely.
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Mr. Speaker, the question is simple. They are not answering a question about a dollar amount included in the budget. In the budget, the Liberals set out $16 million to modernize the Official Languages Act. The Parliamentary Budget Officer is asking them questions. He is an impartial officer here, in the House of Commons, and the government is incapable of answering him.
What is the government hiding?
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple. We have absolutely nothing to hide on this side of the House. We want to do everything we can to protect and promote the beautiful French language. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill that has more bite.
I hope that my hon. colleague and all the parties in the House will work with us to get this bill passed as quickly as possible.
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- Jun/6/22 3:01:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important to our government than the relationship with indigenous peoples. Over the past few years, our government has settled many land claims with indigenous communities in order to renew nation-to-nation relationships founded on community priorities and to right past wrongs. These settlements are a crucial part of our reconciliation process.
Would the minister please tell the House about our government's recent settlement with the Siksika First Nation?
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- Jun/6/22 3:02:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 1910, the Siksika Nation has been deprived of half of its lands and its fair share of the resources on those lands. Its claim is one of the largest in the country, and the community has waited over 112 years for Canada to address this historic injustice.
That is why, today, we are celebrating the signing of a $1.3-billion land claim settlement with the Siksika Nation. This settlement cannot erase the past, but we will continue to work with the Siksika Nation to build a better future for generations to come.
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- Jun/6/22 3:02:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade needs to explain how a close personal friend wound up $17,000 dollars richer after giving the minister a couple of days of media training. Documents tabled in the House show that in April 2020, the minister hired a PR firm run by Liberal insider and CBC pundit Amanda Alvaro just a month after the COVID-19 pandemic began, at a time when many Canadian small businesses were struggling just to survive.
The minister needs to come clean. Why did she award a lucrative contract to someone who describes her as a “dear friend”?
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