44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/13/22 2:48:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for Malpeque for the warm welcome I received when I was in his riding recently, and I am so proud that while I was there we announced a historic agreement with the Government of Prince Edward Island to be the sixth province to partner with us to get the remaining communities in its province connected.
It is a historic investment of $20 million to connect the remaining homes. That brings us closer to our commitment of 98% of Canadians by 2026, and 100% by 2030, being connected with affordable and reliable high-speed Internet.
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- Jun/13/22 2:48:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals insist the police asked them to invoke the Emergencies Act. Police forces say they never asked. The Liberals insist the Act was needed in order to tow the trucks away, which is not the case, as all border blockades were resolved beforehand and it was the province that leveraged the licences of tow truck owners to get their co-operation. The allegations about Russian and foreign funding were false, and the accusations of arson were also false.
Will the Prime Minister admit that invoking the Emergencies Act was just to punish those who do not agree with him?
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- Jun/13/22 2:49:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question allows me to highlight again that Commissioner Lucki testified before committee that there was a problem procuring tow trucks in the midst of the illegal occupation, which is one of the reasons why we included that power in the Emergencies Act. We sought that advice prior to its invocation. We took the decision informed by our consultations, and we did it because it was necessary. We will never apologize for doing what is necessary to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.
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- Jun/13/22 2:50:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has repeatedly stated that the Emergencies Act was invoked at the recommendation of police. However, police officials have testified that they, in fact, did not ask for the invocation, and the minister has not been able to identify any police agency that specifically asked for the Act's invocation, as he states. Canadians do not know what to believe any more and do not trust this misunderstood minister and the government.
Will the minister do the right thing and just admit he made it up, or will he continue to double down and lose what little credibility he has left?
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- Jun/13/22 2:50:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, and as I have said on a number of occasions, we invoked the Emergencies Act because it was necessary. We consulted with law enforcement. We sought their advice prior to its invocation, and that advice obviously informed the decision to invoke. We did it because Canadians were hurting and because, as they were trying to get to work and trying to go about their daily lives, Conservatives were encouraging them to stay. That was wrong.
Just once, it would be nice to hear Conservatives stand up and apologize for their improper, reckless role in extending the illegal blockades. While they were undermining public safety, we were defending it.
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- Jun/13/22 2:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the public safety minister said nine times that he invoked the freeze and seize Emergencies Act at the request of the police. The RCMP denied this, the acting Ottawa police chief denied this and even the former Ottawa police chief denied this.
How can Canadians trust the minister or his government?
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- Jun/13/22 2:51:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians will trust a government that will do what is necessary to protect their health and safety. Members can contrast what we did, which was to invoke the Emergencies Act only after it was clear that existing authorities were ineffective at restoring public safety, with the role of the Conservatives, who encouraged and egged the protesters on, who were taking selfies with them, who were doing whatever it took to make it a political problem for the Prime Minister. That was wrong. They should know better.
Canadians will never forget the role that Conservatives played during the illegal blockades, but they will remember what we did, which was to protect them.
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- Jun/13/22 2:52:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised Canadians they would expect openness and transparency, but it appears this is not the case with our public safety minister. Words matter. Clarity matters. Repeating extensively inside and outside of the House that law enforcement asked for the act is categorically opposed to the narrative that they asked for the measures contained in the act.
How can Canadians trust the minister when he has repeatedly misled them?
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- Jun/13/22 2:53:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague sets a very high threshold for openness and transparency. When is he going to shine a light on the statements that were made by his interim leader during the illegal occupation, who wanted to make it a political problem, while frontline officers were trying to restore public safety? That party—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/13/22 2:53:22 p.m.
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With all the shouting, I was not able to hear half that answer. I am going to have to ask the minister to start over again.
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- Jun/13/22 2:53:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, my hon. colleague across the aisle sets a very high threshold for openness and transparency, and I wonder when he is going to shine a light on the conduct of his own caucus colleagues, including the interim Conservative Party of Canada's leader, who was egging on the illegal occupation long after it had become dangerous. Not only did those statements put at jeopardy the lives and health and safety of Ottawa residents, but they also put in danger the lives and safety of our frontline police officers. It was wrong. They should apologize.
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- Jun/13/22 2:54:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the passport fiasco continues. The only solution for those who have to travel within 48 hours is to wait in line at a passport office for a full day.
Even then they have to choose their day because despite all the unprecedented delays, the passport offices continue to be open only from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A crisis does not get resolved during business hours.
Will the government finally open its offices on weekends for worried travellers?
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- Jun/13/22 2:54:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a frustrating situation for Canadians in Quebec and across the country. We are responding to it.
We know that after two years of restrictions, Canadians want to travel. We have hired more than 600 people and we are in the process of hiring 600 more.
Service Canada employees are working days, evenings and weekends. We will try to do our best because Canadians want to receive their documents on time.
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- Jun/13/22 2:55:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a whole world of difference between the official message and the actual situation at passport offices.
We know that contrary to what is on the website, only people travelling within 48 hours are being served. We know that wait times on the site are unrealistic. We also know that, despite what is indicated, many people have had to pay extra fees.
Can the minister finally clearly explain who can go to a passport office and when, what people should do, and if extra fees are being charged?
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- Jun/13/22 2:56:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned several times in the House, there is an unprecedented number of passport applications.
People can go to a passport office 45 days before travelling. I am checking with Service Canada to see how it is responding to this directive on the ground.
We will reassure Canadians and ensure that the right information is posted on the website. We will continue to ensure that Canadians can access passport services.
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- Jun/13/22 2:56:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are in a labour crisis, and small businesses are the most affected. A follow-up submission to the industry committee from the Department of Employment and Social Development states that they were “not aware of any Canadian studies that estimate the overall economic costs of labour shortages”, and estimates from the Statistics Canada job vacancy and wage survey show 826,000 job vacancies in February, which is double the prepandemic trend.
Why is this government doing nothing to analyze how federal vaccine mandate firings are affecting the labour shortage in Canada?
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- Jun/13/22 2:57:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. I would just point out to her that what we are doing and what we have done throughout the pandemic, and afterward as we exit this pandemic, is supporting Canadian small businesses.
We have recovered over 115% of the jobs lost prior to the pandemic, which is point number one. Point number two is that budget 2022, which I am sure the member opposite has perused carefully, actually shows significant supports for small businesses, such as the phase-out of the small business tax rate, $15 billion invested in the Canada growth fund to scale up and $97 million to secure Canadian IP.
We will continue to work hard for Canadian small businesses because we know that they are the backbone of our economy.
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- Jun/13/22 2:58:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will not listen to Canadians, he will not listen to the opposition and he will not even listen to the doctors in his own caucus. It took American hockey player Ryan Whitney, of Spittin' Chiclets fame, to light up Twitter to make the government react in classic Liberal big-announcement, little-action fashion. They listened to him once, so maybe they will do it again. Will the Prime Minister listen to Whit and end the mandates?
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- Jun/13/22 2:58:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government's priority has been and will always be the safety and protection of Canadians' health.
Our government announced that mandatory randomized testing will be temporarily suspended at all airports from June 11 to June 30. Unvaccinated travellers will still be tested on site. Starting July 1, all testing, including unvaccinated travellers, will be performed off-site. We will continue to stand up for our constituents and their health and safety.
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- Jun/13/22 2:58:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are in fine form. They made a big announcement on Friday. Did they end mandates allowing people to return to work? No. Did they end mandates allowing all Canadians to travel by rail and air? No. Their solution was to pause random COVID testing for a couple of weeks. It was a joke.
Will the parliamentary secretary to the minister of health give us a date on when he will end the mandates, or will he tell me to eff off, like he did to one of his constituents?
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