Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Canada has some of the strictest travel and border measures in the world. With new variants of concern, we know that we need to take further steps to protect Canadians from COVID-19. We have been very clear from the very start of the pandemic that no one should be travelling. Doing so can put people and their loved ones at risk. We will always act to protect Canadians.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, this year marks the 25th official celebration of Black History Month in Canada and the 75th anniversary of Nova Scotia's Viola Desmond standing up against racial segregation. Today I honour another incredible and impactful Black Nova Scotian, Auburn Drive High School principal Karen Hudson. Beloved and known for making every student feel supported and cared for, Principal Hudson was…
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Madam Speaker, we have done more than any government in a generation to lower drug prices. The Minister of Health's mandate letter explicitly calls for the continued implementation of national universal pharmacare. Instead of imposing a top-down approach on the provinces and territories, we are committing to work together with the provinces and territories to create a pharmacare system that works …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is Pink Shirt Day, a day when folks across Canada wear pink shirts to show others they are against bullying. Back in 2007, Nova Scotian students Travis Price and David Shepherd noticed one of the students in their class was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Upset by what they witnessed, they purchased pink shirts and handed them out to their classmates to show their suppor…
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Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, we are taking a multi-layered approach to keep Canadians safe. We are working, as we have from the start, with provinces and territories to protect our communities from outbreaks of these new COVID-19 variants. As part of that work, we did announce $53 million to create a variants of concern strategy, which does increase our monitoring and surveillance of new COVI…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are proud that we have secured one of the strongest vaccine profiles in the world; more doses per capita than any other country. Health Canada regulators have been working around the clock to complete a thorough and independent review of vaccine candidates. It is with a bit of pride that I can tell the House that we have now sent 1.56 million vaccines to provinces and terr…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, we are taking a multi-layered approach to keep Canadians safe. As we have said many times in the House, we are working with the provinces and territories to protect our communities from outbreaks of new COVID-19 variants. As part of that work, we have announced $53 million to create a variants of concern strategy, which will increase our monitoring and surveillance of new COVID-19 v…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the human rights violations in China affecting Uighurs and other ethnic minorities are deeply disturbing and of grave concern for Canadians, this government and the global community. The actions of the Chinese government in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, including repressive surveillance, mass arbitrary detentions and religious persecution, run counter to the basic freedoms en…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I share the member's thoughts on seniors. Our seniors are so important and have been quite impacted by COVID-19. I am very proud of our government for having a minister of seniors. I get a chance to hear regularly from members of my community who are seniors and who are happy that we have started a ministry for seniors. We have more work to do, but we recognize that this extremely imp…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for what might have been a question, but he was not very clear in what he was asking. I will tell him, though, that he is someone with whom I have spent some time on committee, and I have a very good affection for this gentleman. I actually nicknamed him “the walrus” because of that beautiful moustache of his. The member has given us a bevy of issues, all in …
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's foreign policy will always be grounded in Canadian values, including the promotion and protection of human rights. Advancing human rights will continue to be a guiding principle in the Government of Canada's engagement with China. The government has taken steps to help Canadian firms mitigate the risks of doing business in China, and Canada will continue to stand up for human…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to address Bill C-213. As all members know, I firmly support national universal pharmacare and the government knows that pharmacare is the missing piece of universal health care in the country. Pharmacare must remain a priority for all members in the House. Implementing national universal pharmacare is one of the government's top priorities, as reiterated in the Sep…
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Madam Speaker, I want to correct the member and give a few facts and figures. A total of 1.19 million vaccines have been sent to provinces and territories. The member speaks about rapid tests. Almost 19 million rapid tests have been sent to provinces and territories: 6.4 million to Ontario, 3.2 million to Quebec and 1.9 million to Alberta. We have delivered rapid tests and we are delivering vaccin…
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Madam Speaker, we have taken action for Canadians throughout this crisis. Again, as we have said in the House many times, we have secured the highest numbers of doses per capita of any country in the world, with the most diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines are in Canada, with more shipments and deliveries confirmed through February and March and ramping up through the spring. We are w…
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Madam Speaker, regardless of where they live, those living in long-term care deserve quality care and to be treated with dignity. All providers need to be accountable for protecting those in long-term care. We need to protect those living and working in long-term care. Let me be clear, no one is invincible to this virus. We will continue working closely with provinces and territories to control an…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has been singularly focused on the COVID-19 crisis this year and last, and its impacts on Canadians and their families. We will continue to take steps that address all aspects and impacts of this pandemic. We will do so working closely with partners in the provinces and territories, indigenous organizations, municipal governments and a range of stakeholders. T…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I vehemently disagree with the member's comment of “all talk and no action”. In the 2020 Speech from the Throne and the fall economic statement, our government reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating steps to achieve national pharmacare, including developing a high-cost drugs for rare diseases strategy and establishing a national formulary. Canadians are counting on us to get this r…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to thank the hon. member for the question. There are wonderful people on both sides of the House, and this is a member who, day in and day out, shows and proves how much she cares for Canadians and her constituents. The government recognizes that Canadians should not have to choose between buying groceries and paying for medication. That is why the government is…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, to wrap up on the question of the topic that we have been discussing, the Government of Canada recognizes that provinces and territories are best placed to address the spread and the impacts of COVID-19 based on the unique circumstances in their jurisdictions, and we will make every effort to support them in this respect. The government has provided significant funding to support heal…
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Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of this pandemic, we have demonstrated that we were going to work in every way possible to be there for all Canadians and businesses. Every day since, we have done exactly that. The government has rolled out the largest economic measures in Canadian history to support small businesses across this amazing country. This includes programs such as the Canada emerge…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate that since day one of the COVID-19 crisis, this government has been there to support Canada's businesses and the millions of Canadians that they employ. Our government acted quickly to introduce critical supports to ensure that small businesses are able to get through the worst of this pandemic, and we will continue to listen to businesses. The government is committed…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we need to protect those living and working in long-term care. We have provided $740 million to provinces and territories to bring in measures to control and prevent infections, including in long-term care. On November 30, we announced an additional $1 billion in the fall economic statement to create the safe long-term care fund. We are working closely with the provinces and territori…
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Mr. Speaker, last March we told travellers entering Canada to self-isolate for 14 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Canada. We have since strengthened our measures at the border. Travellers returning to Canada are subject to a mandatory 14-day isolation under the Quarantine Act, and must provide a negative PCR test before boarding their flight into Canada. With this, we are protecting the …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. Canadians want us to be able to utilize every option at our disposal to make sure that we keep them safe. From day one, that has been our priority, to keep Canadians healthy and safe. In recent days we have heard ministers say that we are willing to use every option at our disposal to do that. That includes the things the member was just stating.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member, whom I sit with on the health committee, for his earlier speech and his question. It is very clear that he cares about Canadians and his constituents. I appreciate his work on the health committee. We were releasing weekly rollouts of vaccines as they were coming in and letting the provinces and territories know from day one what they were expected to get ba…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, there has been a lot of talk about what other countries have done in regard to transparency. I am not aware of another country that has shared as much detail in their vaccine rollout. They have not shared the numbers of weekly deliveries and they have not shared contract details. By separating out the weekly deliveries for each province and territory our government has done its abso…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to virtually rise in my home office today to address the government's ongoing strategy for rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations. As my colleagues have outlined this evening, from the very early days this government's focus has been on doing whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get us through this pandemic. We know that the only way to conquer this pernicious virus …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada’s approach to substance use issues has been comprehensive and collaborative, guided by our federal drug strategy—the Canadian drugs and substances strategy (CDSS), introduced in late 2016. The CDSS takes a public health-focused approach and lays out our framework for evidence-based actions to reduce the harms associated with substance use in Canada. It include…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Public Health Agency of Canada itself does not undertake the distribution of self-test kits, as this does not fall under its jurisdiction. The REACH/MAP Centre initiative will be distributing test kits. There will be 60,000 self-tests kits made available through an implementation science program led by the REACH/MAP Centre initiative at St. Michael’s Hospital. …
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