43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard) Volume 150 No. 071 Thursday, March 11, 2021 Speaker: The Honourable Anthony Rota CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 4873 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, March 11, 2021 The House met at 10 a.m. [Translation] I would also like to thank the hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît for having brought us to this point with the masks. Prayer [English] ● (1005) I also want to thank all members for the co-operation that has [Translation] taken place. It really shows that Canadian democracy is working strongly and that people are working together. I am very proud to PRIVILEGE be a part of this chamber. INTERPRETATION SERVICES IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS—SPEAKER'S RULING The Speaker: I would like to come back to the question raised ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS on March 8, 2021, by the member for Salaberry—Suroît concern‐ ing the wearing of certain masks during House proceedings. [Translation] The issue that the member raised is an important one because it CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE affects members’ right to participate fully in sittings of the House. The Speaker: Pursuant to section 15(3) of the Conflict of Inter‐ [English] est Code for Members of the House of Commons, it is my duty to lay upon the table the list of all sponsored travel by members for Wearing masks is one of the many constraints related to the pan‐ the year 2020, with a supplement as provided by the Conflict of In‐ demic with which the House and its committees have had to deal terest and Ethics Commissioner. this past year. The House is called on to reconcile everyone's efforts to follow public health guidelines with members' right to participate * * * fully in proceedings while respecting our rules and practices. [English] The deliberations and recommendations of the Standing Com‐ GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS mittee on Procedure and House Affairs have provided a response to Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Presi‐ some of the concerns and eliminated obstacles that sometimes dent of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Lead‐ seemed unsurmountable. The same is true for the many discussions er of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. among House leaders and party whips that have allowed us to con‐ Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to tinue our work. table, in both official languages, the government's response to sev‐ [Translation] en petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format. It is my understanding as well that discussions continued among * * * the parties and that an agreement has been reached. In order to NATIONAL DAY OF OBSERVANCE FOR COVID-19 make the interpreters’ work easier, members who want to wear a mask during their interventions in the House and in committee will Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speak‐ have to use procedure masks. These will be made available in the er, in February last year, the coronavirus disease discovered in 2019 lobbies. At any other time, members may wear any mask they pre‐ gave us a new word: COVID-19. However, even as COVID-19 fer. took hold of our planet, even as this new word took over our lives, we found ourselves talking about other words too, about words that [English] were not new at all: sacrifice and solidarity; compassion and com‐ We have witnessed, this past year, the importance of co-operat‐ munity. When the pandemic hit last year, these words, words that ing, negotiating and compromising. They are essential to the proper have defined Canadians for generations, were suddenly given new functioning of our parliamentary system. meaning. It has been a tough year, a heartbreaking year, but it has been a year that we have faced together, and that is something we I thank the hon. members for their attention. must never forget. 4874 COMMONS DEBATES March 11, 2021 Routine Proceedings On this National Day of Observance for COVID-19, we remem‐ Hon. Erin O'Toole (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. ber the people we have lost: grandparents and parents; brothers and Speaker, today we recognize a sombre national day of observance sisters; friends and colleagues. Each one was loved. Each one was for COVID-19, a virus that has caused a crisis of historic propor‐ special. tions here in Canada and around the world. More than 22,000 [Translation] Canadians have died from COVID-19, hundreds of thousands have fallen ill and millions have lost jobs or have had their work severely The pandemic is officially one year old. March 11, 2020, will al‐ cut back. ways be the dividing line between before and after. For families and loved ones, each death is also a dividing line between before and after. Today we remember those who lost their lives to COVID‑19. They are no longer with us, but we will never forget them. [Translation] The great wars of the 20th century gave us an oft-repeated phrase, one that is just as apt for those we lost this year to the pan‐ demic: Lest we forget. Some Canadians passed away after not seeing their families or [English] loved ones for months. Many parents have struggled to help their kids with online learning at home. A year ago, Canadians were asked to stay home and stay safe, yet even apart, or perhaps because we were apart, our communities became stronger and stronger. Businesses stepped up to produce PPE when we needed it most. Some went from making hockey Canadians must also deal with a number of side effects associat‐ masks to face shields. It does not get more Canadian than that. Stu‐ ed with the pandemic. Many workers are concerned about the men‐ dents and teachers learned how to do school online, and kids did tal health of their colleagues. Thousands of cancer surgeries have the dishes while they were doing their homework. Young people been postponed. Drug and alcohol abuse rates have also increased. across the country stepped up to help their neighbours and to serve Domestic violence has become the shadow pandemic of their communities. Essential workers made sure the shelves were COVID-19. still stocked with food. People cheered from balconies in solidarity with health care workers, the heroes of the pandemic. Brave women and men in the armed forces answered the call of [English] duty for indigenous communities and for the greatest generation, now in long-term care homes. They were there for our parents and grandparents, and through that service we saw clearly that for every senior in Canada we must do better, and I know we will. In British Columbia, there have been 60% more deaths from the ● (1010) opioid epidemic than from COVID-19. Increasing rates of domestic [Translation] violence have been the shadow pandemic this past year. Youth mental health issues, presenting as anxiety or eating disorders, are Despite all that, there is hope on the horizon. The vaccine rollout alarmingly on the rise. is picking up speed. Millions of doses are coming. Now is not the time to let our guard down. As people continue to do what needs to be done, I know they The true cost of this pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of find it reassuring when they see all their leaders working together Canadians of all walks of life has been staggering, yet after a year, across party lines and levels of government. Canadians are still not sure when we can expect life to get back to We are going through an unprecedented crisis. We will need ev‐ normal again. We all want to know when we can go back to work ery Canadian's talent, know-how and ideas to write the next chapter regularly, when we can see our classmates in school like we used to together. We cannot rebuild a just economy for all if we are divid‐ and when everyone can expect their vaccinations. ed. We cannot make major social initiatives a reality if we refuse to listen to one another. Over the past year, we have worked together to get through this, [Translation] and this year, we will keep working together to rebuild. [English] Compassion, community, sacrifice and solidarity are where we The Conservatives want the government to succeed. Everything find meaning in the depths of grief. They are our light through a is linked to the vaccine rollout. Our nation and our economic recov‐ dark time. Every Canadian we lost to this virus will be remem‐ ery depend directly on it. We must do everything we can to get bered. Every shift done by a front-line nurse and every mask made Canadians back to work in every sector and in every region of the by a Canadian worker will not be forgotten. We are stronger togeth‐ country. Canadians need the government to take action, especially er today, tomorrow and always. to stop the spread of new variants. March 11, 2021 COMMONS DEBATES 4875 Routine Proceedings ● (1015) Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ): Mr. [English] Speaker, with the symbol of the white rose, which I brought with me here today, Quebec has chosen to also declare today a day of Our front-line health care workers are exhausted. Nurses, PSWs, remembrance. In normal times we would expect the commemora‐ physicians and caregivers have put it all on the line for us this last tion to be held once the crisis is over, but it has been going on for year, and Canadians appreciate their efforts.