44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 6, 2022 10:00AM
- Dec/6/22 2:43:52 p.m.
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The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.
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- Dec/6/22 2:43:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps that member would like to have a conversation with the Auditor General.
In her report this morning, she made it clear the government is on track for almost $2 billion in wasted vaccines by the end of this year, over 15 million doses wasted so far, with the potential of the majority of another 55 million doses set to expire in 26 days. The government took vaccines meant for underdeveloped countries, the only G7 country to do so, while wasting billions in expired vaccines.
When will the government stop its wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars?
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- Dec/6/22 2:44:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, leave it to the Conservatives to suggest that buying vaccines during a deadly pandemic was wasteful. Context matters. At the start of this pandemic, no one could predict which vaccine would be most effective.
With an increased global demand, our government prioritized, protecting the health and safety of Canadians. We will continue to work to keep securing the vaccines Canadians need while taking measures to manage our supply and reduce wastage. As recommended, we will also continue to work with provinces, territories and indigenous partners to enhance data sharing across jurisdictions and partners through a pan-Canadian health data strategy.
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- Dec/6/22 2:45:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General stated that the process the government relied on to distribute COVID benefits led to $4.6 billion in overpayments to ineligible individuals, and at least another $27 billion that needs to be investigated.
How much of this $32 billion can taxpayers expect to recover? How much money is the government going to spend in administrative costs to recover money for taxpayers?
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- Dec/6/22 2:45:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we, as a Parliament, approved an approach that was attestation based with a rigorous postpayment verification.
As a result of that approach, Canadians were able to put food on their tables. Canadians remained attached to their jobs. We positioned our economy well to come roaring back at the end of the pandemic. It has, and 117% of the jobs have been recovered. Our public health outcomes are the envy of the world.
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- Dec/6/22 2:46:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Auditor General said very clearly the postpayment verification process is anything but rigorous.
The problem is that taxpayers are now on the hook for these billions of dollars they may never receive back. This is the same failed process the government is relying upon when distributing its new dental and rental benefits.
Will the government admit it had no controls and finally put some controls in place before it distributes any more government money?
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- Dec/6/22 2:46:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are pursuing a very rigorous postpayment verification process based on best practices in the world of risk-based analysis.
We are taking a compassionate approach. We absolutely paused repayment during omicron and other things that came up during the pandemic. I can assure the House that we are on top of it and we are following up.
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- Dec/6/22 2:47:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, families are frustrated and anxious about the state of our emergency rooms. Sick kids are waiting in makeshift spaces for up to 20 hours and this government is letting Premier Ford download health care costs onto municipalities.
London city hall, already overburdened, is being asked to pay $300 million to cover health care's restructuring. The Liberal government is leaving families and the cities they live in to fend for themselves against the callous provincial government.
When will the government hammer out a health care transfer deal to ensure cities do not have to bear the brunt of health care costs?
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- Dec/6/22 2:47:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we share the frustrations and concerns of parents across Ontario with the wait times at hospitals, particularly for kids. It has been a really challenging flu, RSV and COVID season, with all of those piling up. We recognize it has been extraordinarily challenging for health care workers as well. We believe, on this side of the House, that all someone should need to get health care in Canada is their health card, not their credit card, so we will always stand up for our public system. Canadians are proud of our system. It is one based on need, not on ability to pay.
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- Dec/6/22 2:48:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for decades advocates have called to nationalize early learning and child care. However, we still do not have legislation in place that ensures long-term protected funding for child care that prioritizes the expansion of non-profit and public service delivery. Families deserve access to high-quality, affordable child care now.
When will the Liberals introduce this important legislation?
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- Dec/6/22 2:48:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure to work with the hon. member and so many colleagues in the House to deliver early learning and affordable child care across this country.
In fact we have reduced fees by 50% from coast to coast to coast, which means that more families are able to afford child care and more women are entering into the workforce. In fact, women's workforce participation is at an all-time high in Canadian history thanks to some of the policies, including child care, that this government has put forward. I am looking forward to introducing legislation soon to make sure we keep early learning and child care a good for Canadians for all time.
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- Dec/6/22 2:49:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Thirty-three years ago today I was a law student and remember very well the horrific shooting of 14 brilliant women at École Polytechnique in Montreal. Today is a day we vow to fight back against gun violence and gender-based violence.
Can the minister speak about the importance of this day and our government's plan to address gender-based violence?
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- Dec/6/22 2:49:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the massacre at École Polytechnique was one of the most horrifying things to happen on Canadian soil. There were 14 women killed and 13 injured simply because they were women. We will always stand up for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. We support them. We honour them. We condemn anyone who tries to sully their memory, and we will not rest until every Canadian is safe.
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- Dec/6/22 2:50:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is an incredibly critical part of our democracy. When an individual calls the Auditor General's integrity into question, which happened just now in the House, it is an attack on our democracy. Simply put, her only offence was not supporting and endorsing Liberal waste.
Will the minister apologize?
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- Dec/6/22 2:51:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleagues on the other side of the House can talk about what a waste it was to implement the 13 programs that we put in place during the pandemic, but on this side of the House, we can say that we saved lives.
I am certainly not going to apologize for saving lives and neither is our government. The worst part is that the Conservatives are willing to play politics with children's pain and dental programs. It is a real shame.
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- Dec/6/22 2:52:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was not the opposition who called out $32 billion in waste. It was the Auditor General.
My question again is a simple one. Will the minister retract her comment calling into question the independence of the Auditor General, yes or no?
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- Dec/6/22 2:52:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the CRA does not agree with the Auditor General's calculations concerning recipients who were not eligible for the wage subsidy.
The CRA's actual audits indicate that compliance with the subsidies was high and that the Auditor General's figure is exaggerated. That is not the Auditor General's fault. We all know that she was pressured by the opposition to produce this report. Political games notwithstanding, let us not forget that the wage subsidy saved the economy.
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- Dec/6/22 2:53:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nowhere in the Auditor General's report does she question the time she needed to take to produce this report. Nowhere in the report does she accuse the opposition of pressuring her to produce this report.
However, to hide her incompetence, today the Minister of National Revenue questioned the integrity of the Auditor General of Canada in her report on pandemic spending.
Will she apologize immediately, yes or no?
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- Dec/6/22 2:54:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we absolutely respect the Auditor General.
She absolutely agreed with us that we met the objectives of this plan. We kept Canadians safe, we put money in their pockets quickly and we avoided significant economic and social harm.
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- Dec/6/22 2:54:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was this Parliament that asked the Auditor General to investigate pandemic spending and the way the government managed the pandemic. It was this Parliament that asked her to get to the bottom of this. It was not the opposition.
However, today in the House, the Minister of National Revenue had the nerve to hide her incompetence at managing the crisis by throwing accusations at the Auditor General of Canada and questioning her integrity.
There is just one thing left for the minister to do, and that is to stand up and apologize to the House.
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