Update on COVID-19 crisis
Hon. Andrew Scheer – Press Conference Remarks April 14, 2020
Good morning,
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Canadians from coast to coast. More than 25,000 Canadians have fallen sick and sadly hundreds of families have lost loved ones. Almost six million people have lost their jobs and the businesses that are still open are worried about how they are going to hang on.
Our entire Conservative Caucus is working hard to help get them the support they need as quickly as possible. We have proposed a number of constructive solutions, such as rebating the GST to small businesses that have collected it in the last year, temporarily allowing owner-operators to become wage earning employees so that they qualify for the wage subsidy, and lifting the $40,000 cap on the Canada Emergency Business Account that banks and credit unions are now delivering, so that businesses can borrow the cash needed to pay their employees now and pay it back once the CRA deposits their wage subsidy in their accounts. I look forward to the government implementing our suggestions, but there's still more work to do.
The House of Commons will continue to resume normal sittings on April 20th unless an agreement is reached between all the parties to modify the sitting calendar. As I made clear in my letter to the Prime Minister last night, such an agreement must include regular opportunities for Members of Parliament to question him, as we would normally during Question Period. It must also include regular opportunities for Members of Parliament to question ministers in the House of Commons on all aspects of the government's response to COVID-19.
New government documents and security reports paint a concerning picture about how the government reacted to the pandemic in the early days and its lack of preparedness. Our borders remained open, even as other countries closed theirs to protect the health and safety of their citizens. Instead of stockpiling medical supplies, as the World Health Organization told countries to prepare for a possible outbreak, this government sent thousands of masks, gloves and other critical equipment overseas. Canadians were repeatedly told that the public health risk was low. Strict public health measures were brought in just a few days later.
The Prime Minister has now issued warnings regarding a second and possibly a third wave of COVID-19. Canadians must be assured that the government has a plan to get ahead of those waves and eventually get our economy back on track.
As we have demonstrated during the last two sittings of Parliament, Members of Parliament can meet in a responsible manner, while respecting public health advice. Continued in-person sittings have allowed Opposition parties to debate, discuss, question and ultimately improve the government's response to this pandemic. They are an essential part of our democratic process and ensure better results for all Canadians.
Thank you very much / Merci beaucoup.