Matt Jeneroux - 12:11

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, Canada currently has restrictive border measures in place. One of the aspects of our border measures that I think is most valuable to Canadians—
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:11
Matt Jeneroux - 12:11

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, let me continue my answer.
One of the most important and trickiest aspects of our travel restrictions has been to ensure that we have restrictions in place with our largest neighbour, most important trading partner, the United States, restrictions which simultaneously protect the health of Canadians but also permit essential travel for businesses, for services. That was a complex balance to achieve. I'm very pleased that we have achieved it.
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Matt Jeneroux - 12:12

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, as I said, getting the balance exactly right, particularly with the United States, with whom we have the longest unmilitarized border in the world and with whom we have essential trade that needs to continue, was very tricky. I'm very pleased that we've managed to do that in a reciprocal and collaborative way.
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Matt Jeneroux - 12:13

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, we are very closely monitoring the need for various medicines in Canada.
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Matt Jeneroux - 12:13

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, absolutely not. I would strongly disagree with that assertion. Of course, not every drug that is invented in the world has a manufacturer that seeks approval in Canada, but we always look for ways for Canadians to have access to the medicines they need.
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Matt Jeneroux - 12:14

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, let me be very, very clear with Canadians. It is absolutely important for Canadians to have access to the medicines that they need. That is something that our government, working closely with the provinces, is focused on.
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Matt Jeneroux - 12:14

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, our government is focused on making the medicines that Canadians need available to them at an affordable price.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:15
Matt Jeneroux - 12:15

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, let me first of all say that our health minister is doing a fantastic job. She, like the rest of our government, is focused on ensuring that all Canadians have access to the medicines they need and that our country doesn't pay more than it needs to for the medicines it needs.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:15
Alain Therrien - 12:15

Lib. (ON)
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I would like to thank the member for his question.
I would like to emphasize that in my view, as a mother and a member of Parliament, the most important thing is to protect our young people and students. We must all understand that the crisis raises a particular problem for them and that it is a very dangerous time for them and their future. For this reason, I am proud to be able to say that our government has created a $9-billion support program for our students.
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Alain Therrien - 12:17

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his question.
I would like to reply by saying that for our government—and for the Bloc Québécois member, I believe—the priority must be to protect our students.
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Alain Therrien - 12:18

Lib. (ON)
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The answer is simple too.
We will do everything required to protect and help our young people because we understand that the situation is difficult, and even dangerous, because of the COVID-19 crisis.
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Alain Therrien - 12:18

Lib. (ON)
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It may be because I am a mother and have many young Canadians in my personal life, but I have an enormous amount of confidence in our young people. I believe that they want to work.
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Alain Therrien - 12:19
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:19

Lib. (ON)
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I am well aware that the Bloc Québécois member is not a mother. Fathers also think that students and young people are important.
I have two things to say. First of all, our government recognizes the close cooperation that exists among all members of the opposition, including members of the Bloc Québécois. We are always prepared to speak and work with them. Secondly, I am personally convinced that our young people want to work. They want to gain employment experience because they understand that it is important for their careers.
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Alain Therrien - 12:20

Lib. (ON)
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I hope and believe that Canadians and Quebeckers have a high level of confidence in our government. I hope that they know we understand that we have to deal with a crisis that is a major challenge. We are prepared to do everything needed to protect the health of Canadians and our country's economy.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:21
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:21

Lib. (ON)
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Thank you Mr. Chair
I agree with the leader of the NDP that the priority is to help workers. We must help Canadians because our country is facing a major economic crisis. We believe that it is important to find ways to give money to people.
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Jagmeet Singh - 12:22

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, I agree with the member opposite that our priority needs to be to support Canadian workers in this very difficult time.
What I would say to the member opposite, as the Prime Minister said earlier this week, please name one company that is receiving the wage subsidy support and therefore is able to keep its workers on the payroll who you think should not be getting that support. We'd like to know. We don't want anybody to be cheating either.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:23

Lib. (ON)
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:23
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:24

Lib. (ON)
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Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
While I'm not sure if the member opposite is suggesting that Loblaws and Cargill are in receipt of wage subsidy support, and if he is, I'd like to hear that, but more broadly, I do want to be clear about our government's position, which I'm very proud of. Our government's position is that our house is burning down, and Canadians right now are facing the toughest economic situation since the Great Depression, and our priority is to support every single Canadian worker we can.
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Jagmeet Singh - 12:24

Lib. (ON)
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Well, look, when it comes to bonuses, I don't think the member opposite is proposing that our government should put in place across-the-board restrictions on—
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Jagmeet Singh - 12:25

Lib. (ON)
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—on the salaries of all CEOs across the country no matter what. That would be rather draconian.
When it comes to our LEEFF program of support for large employers, it is absolutely the case that any company that seeks that support will have to agree to very strict —
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:25

Lib. (ON)
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—restrictions on executive pay, share buybacks and dividends.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:25
Jagmeet Singh - 12:26

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, let me commit to two things.
First of all, our priority absolutely is to support workers. That's what we're doing.
Second of all, companies getting support through the LEEFF program absolutely will face restrictions on dividends, share buybacks and executive compensation.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:26
Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner - 12:38

Lib. (ON)
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This would absolutely not be an accurate characterization.
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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner - 12:39
Richard Martel - 12:44

Lib. (ON)
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I would like to thank my colleague very much for his question.
When I was Minister of Foreign affairs, I worked closely with the Gauthier family. Mr. Martel is right to say that this matter is of considerable concern to our government, and to all Canadians, particularly in Mr. Gauthier's region. We are going to continue to work with the family and our foreign partners to help Mr. Gauthier.
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Richard Martel - 12:45
Richard Martel - 12:48

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
We are very familiar with this project and are working on several issues, including this one, in close collaboration with Quebec. I, like the member, believe that natural resource projects are important for Canada's economy and that they will also be important for helping our economy recover.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:49
Stephanie Kusie - 12:49

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, I must say that I disagree in the strongest possible terms that our government would ever encourage foreign influence in Canadian democracy, and I have to say that I believe all members of this House have the same view.
Our democracy is precious. Our sovereignty is precious. I think all of us as members of this House are sworn to defend it, and our government certainly has always done that and will continue to do so.
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Stephanie Kusie - 12:50

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, if the member opposite is suggesting that people who believe we need to protect our environment and people who believe we need to fight climate change work in our government, then the member is absolutely right, and I believe that all Canadians understand that we need to fight climate change and we need to support the environment.
Canada, as a proud natural resource producing country, needs to continue the work that is led by many brilliant people in the energy sector to produce our natural resources in a sustainable way to protect our environment. That is something we're doing, and it is something we'll continue to do.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:52
Stephanie Kusie - 12:52

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, our government absolutely understands the need to support workers across our fantastic country, very much including energy workers, and we understand that energy workers are facing a double burden. They are facing the challenges posed by the coronavirus, and they are facing the challenges posed by a historically low price for oil.
That is why our government has stepped up to help them. We have stepped up to help them with the $1.7 billion to clean up orphaned wells, an effort that will put people back to work while supporting our environment. The LEEFF program, which is now open for applications, is going to support large employers across the country, very much including in our energy sector.
I'd like to congratulate the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C. for working with the federal government to agree on methane emissions. This is very good news for the environment. It's very good news for our energy sector. We are making progress together.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:54
Blake Richards - 12:57

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, let me thank the member opposite for the question. It's a very important one for Canadians, and I want to start with this assurance to Canadians: The health and safety of Canadians is first and foremost for our government when it comes to reopening the borders. We need to be very careful about the epidemiological situation in Canada and outside our country. We're also working very closely with the premiers.
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Blake Richards - 12:58
Blake Richards - 12:59

Lib. (ON)
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Mr. Chair, our government understands the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy, and we are committed to supporting energy workers.
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Blake Richards - 12:59
Hon. Ed Fast - 13:18

Lib. (ON)
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I'd like to thank the member opposite for his very important question. He raises a very important point that today, at a time when our economy is facing a very difficult situation, Canadian companies are particularly vulnerable. Today is also a time when we have particular reason to pay attention to the sanctity of our supply chains in areas like medical equipment and food security.
Let me assure the honourable member that our government, informed by the work of our excellent intelligence analysts, is very focused on ensuring the safety and sanctity of Canadian companies and on ensuring that they are not acquired inappropriately.
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Hon. Ed Fast - 13:20

Lib. (ON)
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Let me say that the member points to a very important issue, one that I think should concern all Canadians. It is never right for Canadian companies to be acquired by hostile foreign interests in the world today, where we have more reason than ever to be concerned about our national security. We need to pay particular attention to this concern, and we are.
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Hon. Ed Fast - 13:20

Lib. (ON)
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I would really like to assure the member opposite, and all Canadians, that our government will always stand up for the national interest. We will always stand up for national security, and that definitely means not allowing hostile interests to buy up our companies.
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Hon. Ed Fast - 13:21