(Ottawa) At the instigation of the Bloc Québécois, elected federal officials are asking the House of Commons and the Trudeau government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the masks that are distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various departments are manufactured by Canadian companies.
The House of Commons adopted on Thursday a motion presented by Bloc member Julie Vignola to correct a situation deemed “unacceptable” by the opposition parties and Canadian business. The motion sets January 31 as the deadline for the House of Commons and the Trudeau government to meet this obligation.
This motion was adopted after Press reported Monday that Chinese-made masks have been distributed to MPs and Parliament Hill employees for several weeks, even though several Canadian companies have been producing personal protective equipment for several months.
These companies had also responded to the call for the mobilization of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, who, while the pandemic was raging in March 2020, had urged them to embark on the local production of these valuable equipment.
The objective was to ensure that Canada was never again dependent on foreign countries, especially China, for the production of such equipment, as was the case during the first months of the health crisis.
The motion sponsored by Bloc member Julie Vignola demands that “the administration of the House and the federal government take steps to ensure that, as of January 31, 2022, the masks distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from of domestic companies that produce this type of personal protective equipment ”.
It was the Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus who was the first to denounce this situation.
“There are Canadian companies that have made major investments to be able to manufacture quality masks that meet the highest standards. But that the House of Commons and the federal government buy masks that are made in China and supposedly approved by the FDA is beyond belief. It is also of concern for the health and protection of Members of Parliament and staff on Parliament Hill. They wear a mask of which we do not know the quality, “said Paul-Hus Monday.
“At the start of the pandemic, we can understand that there was an urgent need to obtain masks. We had no strategic reserve. But after nearly two years of the pandemic, and after Canadian companies have invested heavily to produce masks here, it is completely incomprehensible that the Canadian government continues to provide us with products made in China, ”he added. in an interview at Press.
On Thursday, Conservative Party and NDP MPs supported Mr.me Vignola, while the Liberal MPs did not signal their opposition loudly enough to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, to be heard. After the latter indicated that the motion was carried, some Liberals rose to say that they were opposed to it. But the president said he did not hear them and therefore the motion was deemed to have passed unanimously.
It was MP Julie Vignola’s second attempt to force the House of Commons and federal departments to encourage local buying.
In the morning, she tried to pass a similar motion during the meeting of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. But the Liberal MPs who are members of this committee were resistant to it, stating in particular that such a motion could violate the rules of the World Trade Organization.
Some also insisted that we first check whether the supply of masks was sufficiently stocked in Ottawa before disposing of those made in China. Arguments ridiculed by members of other political parties. But the endless discussions on amendments and subamendments to the Bloc motion ensured that the committee meeting ended without the members having voted.