Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:34
BQ (QC)
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Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Since October 21, the Bloc Québécois has tried to be a constructive opposition. As the lieutenant for Quebec, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons knows it. He knows that we have always been constructive in all our efforts.
I made a list, because I didn't want to forget anything. It's a list of measures that can be attributed to us or that we contributed to, measures that, above all else, were achieved. They are all improvements, no matter whose idea they were.
Assistance for seniors, the ability for people to earn a bit of income without losing the Canada emergency response benefit, or CERB—that includes firefighters, dividends and councillors—CERB eligibility for self-employed and independent workers, enhancements to the emergency business account and wage subsidy, and commercial rent relief are all on that list. We would have liked to see more support for fixed costs. Unfortunately, it's been a rocky road. Dairy farmers received support through the increase in the Canadian Dairy Commission's borrowing limit. We were also the first ones to broach the idea of a virtual Parliament.
The problem, however, has to do with the CERB, clearly an integral part of the government's response to the pandemic. The CERB is supposed to provide income support to people who are struggling. That's understandable, but it should not be a disincentive to going back to work. On that front, it has failed.
Why did the government not adjust the CERB accordingly?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau - 12:35
BQ (QC)
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On April 29, we talked to people in the government. Back then, it was clear that the Canada emergency student benefit, or CESB, needed to have incentives built in and that the CERB should as well. We asked a question about that. We wanted the government to pledge to do so. We didn't include it in the motion, but we asked the Deputy Prime Minister about it. She said that the CERB and the CESB were being offered in a manner that meets their objectives while encouraging employment in all circumstances.
Why didn't the government keep its word?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau - 12:37
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:37
BQ (QC)
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Mr. Chair, the Bloc Québécois was told that it was impossible to build incentives into the CERB owing to a lack of resources. Last week, the Liberals proposed the use of coercive measures, which weren't easily enforceable. They had the resources to implement coercive measures, but not incentives.
The Quebec government is calling on you to do this. Why are you not adjusting the CERB, which is currently hindering the economic recovery?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau - 12:38
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:38
BQ (QC)
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I know it isn't easy to put incentives in place, but the Liberals have a responsibility to do the right thing in a difficult situation. We made that clear a month and a half ago. We warned them, because they needed it, and we told them that what they were doing was risky since certain people would refuse to work if they could make more money staying home. It's important to do things properly. We can't have people refusing to work when the economic recovery begins.
Everyone is asking for this. Are you going to adjust the CERB quickly?
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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau - 12:39
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:40
BQ (QC)
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Mr. Chair, the member for Burnaby South used unparliamentary language yesterday. He insulted the member for La Prairie, Alain Therrien, and the Bloc Québécois.
Four times, he called him racist, and I also think he challenged your authority. When you asked him to apologize, he refused to do so. You expelled him from the House.
I am again asking you not to recognize him today.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:40
Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:41
BQ (QC)
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Mr. Chair, I understood your response. I am grateful to you for considering our request, given how serious the matter in question is.
If a member or a party leader is allowed to insult another member, what happens? We can insult a fellow member and simply be tossed out of the House for a day. That's not a serious consequence.
Today, I am deeply disappointed to hear the leader of the NDP speak. I thought he was a great democrat. Honestly, what kind of example are we setting today?
Mr. Chair, I am again asking you not to recognize the member for Burnaby South.
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Hon. Anthony Rota - 12:43
Carol Hughes - 13:18
BQ (QC)
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Madam Chair, I'll be sharing my time with my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé.
I'll start with an easy question for the government. If it found $1.320 billion lying around, would it know how to use that money wisely?
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Hon. Mona Fortier - 13:18
Carol Hughes - 13:19
BQ (QC)
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Thank you, Madam Chair. I like to see the same old platitudes interrupted.
Taxing the GAFA group would bring in over $781 million. Charging GAFA royalties for content creators, which generate billions of dollars, would bring in $540 million. These two amounts combined total $1.32 billion. These are the pre-crisis figures reported by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. We know that the GAFA group's revenue soared with the crisis.
Why is the government waiting to pick up the money lying around and to ensure justice for journalists, the media, songwriters and artists, who are struggling like never before these days, and especially for all businesses in Quebec and Canada that are paying their fair share?
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Hon. Steven Guilbeault - 13:19
Carol Hughes - 13:20
BQ (QC)
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I know that my colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, wants this. I know that he wants to implement a royalty system, because we've already talked about it many times.
When will the government propose a fair royalty system? It would be only fair for content creators. I'm sure that my colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, agrees with this.
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Carol Hughes - 13:20
Carol Hughes - 13:21
BQ (QC)
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Madam Chair, on World Milk Day, I called for two tangible measures for the dairy industry: the allocation of import quotas to processors and a concrete announcement regarding compensation payments. The first matter has been resolved, and we're pleased about this. A little concrete action is good.
However, we now need a concrete approach to compensation. Can we have a date for the announcement and the payment?
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Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau - 13:21
Carol Hughes - 13:22
BQ (QC)
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We weren't talking about the Canadian Dairy Commission, another great success that we achieved by working together. We were talking about quotas.
I'll address the compensation issue. Dairy farmers received an initial payment last year, but they haven't received anything since then. The other supply-managed sectors, poultry and eggs, agreed on the compensation amounts last August, almost a year ago.
We need a date.
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Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau - 13:22
BQ (QC)
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I'm pleased that we're talking about the measures. Currently, almost all the assistance measures lead to farm debt. The farms need oxygen instead. We need the announcement and compensation payments now. The needs are urgent in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can we have a date? We know about the commitments. We want a date.
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Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau - 13:23
Hon. Anthony Rota - 14:12
BQ (QC)
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Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As we know, we needed to concentrate our energy and our efforts in order to face the pandemic. However, we must remember that, just because we are in a pandemic does not mean that people stop being ill, stop being stricken with cancer or with serious diseases. Let us think about those who were in remission perhaps a few months ago and who have exhausted their employment insurance sickness benefits. Today, they find themselves completely lost and abandoned. In addition to fighting against a recurrence of cancer, they do not have the financial means to pay their rent or their electricity and telephone bills. They are going through a major financial pressure because we have not taken the time in the House to agree on a measure, an amendment to the Employment Insurance Act to increase employment insurance sickness benefits and extend them from 15 to 50 weeks. At this very moment, many members of this House have constituents who are fighting cancer and have nothing with which to do so.
Is the government going to use the next sitting of the House, on July 8, to introduce a bill to extend employment insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 50 weeks?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos - 14:14
BQ (QC)
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Mr. Chair, I do not think that the minister's words will provide comfort for those currently dealing with cancer and who have exhausted their special sickness benefits from employment insurance.
On February 18, a motion by the Bloc Québécois was passed unanimously with a view to extending the benefits from 15 to 50 weeks. The government committed to extend them from 15 to 26 weeks. At the moment, those who are sick, who are about to lose their subsistence income, or who no longer have any income and who are struggling to survive, have no indication or encouragement from the government that, on July 8, by unanimous consent, we will together increase the sickness benefits in the employment insurance program.
Can the minister tell us, and make the commitment, that on July 8, he will use the sitting of the House to introduce this measure and arrange for it to be passed? The measure is simply an amendment to an act that already exists.
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos - 14:16
Hon. Anthony Rota - 14:17
BQ (QC)
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Mr. Chair, I am going to correct the minister, if I may. Currently, those who are sick and who have exhausted their special sickness benefits from employment insurance are not eligible for the CERB; they are not eligible for anything.
I therefore encourage the government to come back on July 8 with a bill. TheLeader of the Government may be assured of our cooperation in helping those who are sick.
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos - 14:17