Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my remarks, I have been speaking with some of the tourism stakeholders in my riding. The health and safety of Canadians should be considered paramount, but the economic vitality and the jobs and the needed investments need not be mutually exclusive concepts.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, before I begin, I would like to let the House know I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Souris—Moose Mountain. Today I rise in this place to speak on a topic of great importance, not only to my constituents but in fact to all Canadians, as we seek to navigate a way forward as we combat and eventually tackle COVID-19 and its impacts in Canada.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, on June 30, the two bridge authorities, which operate the four international border crossings in the Niagara region, sent a joint letter to multiple ministers in the Liberal government. As these bridges have been hit hard by COVID-19, they requested assistance no different from support currently being made available to airports, as a simple matter of fairness.

Health  Mr. Speaker, many workers in the tourism industry, people who are servers, flight attendants, hotel cleaning staff and more, are worried about their jobs. When I talk to leaders in these industries, they say a widely made available rapid test could significantly reduce the mandatory quarantine period for travellers and help these workers keep their jobs while keeping our communities safe.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, Winston Churchill was once quoted as saying that the House of Commons is the “shrine of the world's liberties.” I wonder if the member has a comment on his concerns with the notion of a virtual Parliament and the rights and privileges that MPs have, as well as the difficulties we can have.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, COVID-19 has heavily impacted the greenhouse sector this year. Greenhouse operators have already invested tremendously in input costs to grow their product for market, but these markets have now instantaneously disappeared because of the virus. The next eight weeks are critical for greenhouse operators to cover their costs and make their profits.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture has recommended that the federal government restore the AgriStability coverage rate to 85% and remove the reference margin limit for the 2020 program year and the remainder of the Canadian agricultural partnership. Over the last few weeks we have now heard how much COVID-19 is impacting our Canadian agricultural sector and how this can impact future food security throughout our country.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, COVID-19 is having immediate and devastating impacts on the tourism sector across Canada. My community of Niagara Falls has been hit particularly hard. With over 16,000 hotel rooms in hotels employing almost 40,000 workers and generating over $2.4 billion in receipts, Niagara's hotels and accommodations, restaurants and resorts and other small business operations have all been devastated by this terrible virus.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, on April 8, the finance committee met to examine issues related to Canadian tourism and how COVID-19 was negatively impacting this important economic sector. As part of the hearings, the Hotel Association of Canada put forward some immediate solutions that would help support tourism.

COVID-19 Emergency Response  Mr. Speaker, earlier the Prime Minister said that students would be eligible for CERB if they made $5,000 in the last year. However, to be eligible they would also have to have lost a job due to COVID. The vast majority of students had not started summer jobs when the crisis hit, and as a result are not eligible.

Wine Industry  Mr. Speaker, while the government's response to COVID-19 has demanded much of Parliament's attention, as it so deserves, we need to remember there are other important issues playing on in the background that also deserve Parliament's attention. In my riding, one of these is Australia's World Trade Organization challenge against the excise tax exemption for 100% Canadian-made wines.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the $196,010,248 loan that was written off from Export Development Canada’s Canada Account: (a) who received the loan; (b) what was the purpose of the loan; and (c) why was it written off?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the 16 CC-295 fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft purchased by the government: (a) what are the operational limitations of the aircraft; (b) what operational limitations were discovered during any phase of the pre-acceptance testing; (c) what specific content in the aircraft’s manual is under dispute; (d) what specific Canadian requirements do the aircraft manuals suggest the aircraft does not meet; and (e) what are the critical safety aspects of the technical manuals currently under discussion between Canada and Airbus?

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, a new green-light law in New York state will now prevent those residents from enrolling in trusted traveller programs like Global Entry, FAST, NEXUS or SENTRI. This is very troubling for Niagara Falls and for the region of Niagara. We benefit tremendously from these programs, which support the flow of people and goods crossing our borders.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, for two weeks the Canadian economy has been brought to its knees by a handful of activists. VIA Rail service has been stopped across the country, disrupting tens of thousands of Canadians who are trying to visit family or get to business meetings. Nearly 1,000 VIA employees have been laid off, unable to work while the blockades remain.