​I am writing this week’s report from Ottawa as this is the week the House of Commons special COVID-19 Committee was scheduled to sit and we would have the opportunity to hold the Government to account.

Unfortunately, despite promising that he would not prorogue the House of Commons, Prime Minister Trudeau did precisely that and this week's sitting was adjourned.

Worse is the fact that the house does not sit again until the end of September.

Why is this a problem?

Last week the Prime Minister announced that the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) would be coming to an end in September and that the regular EI system along with three new benefits.

For instance, for those currently on CERB that are not EI eligible and cannot find work, they could apply for a $400/week benefit, or $500/ week if they have dependents.

While these new benefits must be debated and approved before they can be delivered, the government’s estimates these changes will cost Canadian taxpayers $37 billion.

Despite this announcement, there are still many unanswered questions.  

One example is many new and expecting parents have been sidelined by COVID-19 and unable to access parental leave.

This has left many without any parental supports during the pandemic.

Despite Parliament passing legislation that would allow this issue to be fixed by the Minister responsible, it has taken months of questioning by opposition members like myself, with government promising but yet failing to fix the problem.

Now, as part of this announcement, those seeking parental leave will only need 120 insurable hours instead of 600 hours- which should take effect at the end of September.

While the government has said this will be retroactive, this change comes very late.

There are also questions raised about new eligibility requirements.

In the case of an individual who only works full time for 3 weeks and accumulates 120 hours, they could potentially be eligible for 6 and ½ months of EI under one of the new programs.

How sustainable this is, in relation to the current EI premiums paid by workers, is an unanswered but important question.

In fact, as the Opposition shadow critic for this portfolio, I have repeatedly asked for the status of the EI account, however the Minister responsible refuses to provide an answer.

This is deeply concerning as the EI account belongs to workers.

There is no reason for the Minister to refuse to tell Canadians workers, who pay EI premiums, what the status of the EI account is.

It has generally been my experience that when this Liberal Government refuses to disclose information it is because that information often does not reflect well on the government’s management of your money.

This leads to my question this week: 

Do you believe it is acceptable for this Liberal Government to refuse to publicly post the current status of Canada’s EI account?
 
I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.

​As you may have heard this week the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue the House of Commons.

What does this mean? 

Prorogation is a parliamentary procedure where the current session of Parliament is ended.

This is done by a proclamation of the Governor General, at the request of the Prime Minister.

What happens next? 

The PM announced the date that the second session of the 43rd Parliament will begin is set for Wednesday, September 23rd.

There will be a throne speech, as is the custom of a new session of Parliament, and ultimately a confidence vote following that throne speech. In a minority Parliament that could potentially result in an election. 

Why request prorogation? 

Although there can be a variety of different reasons, the most common is for the government to outline a new or different direction.

Certainly, that is what Prime Minister Trudeau has indicated in this case.

While it makes sense that the government would want to outline a new direction in a throne speech, there is one other serious consideration that cannot be ignored.

With the exception of a one day sitting of the COVID Committee next Wednesday August 26th, the House of Commons was already adjourned until Monday, September 21st.

So why prorogue the House of Commons when it is already adjourned? 

The answer is the fact that several parliamentary committees were sitting and hearing evidence on the details that resulted in WE Charity foundation receiving a sole-sourced contract in excess of $500 Million.

Having read much of the evidence from these meetings, a clear pattern was emerging where details from witnesses would directly contradict what the Prime Minister had previously and publicly stated on the record.

As one example, the PM stated that when he first heard of the proposed WE Charity’s contribution agreement on May 8th, he “pushed back” and instructed the public service to do more “due diligence” before cabinet actually approved the agreement on May 28th.

However, at the Finance Committee, the Assistant Deputy Minister developing the program stated that "We entered into a negotiation of a contribution agreement with WE Charity in mid-May".

Clearly there was no evidence of any “push back” as the PM stated but rather there was a rush to get the sole-sourced contract completed. 

Now that the Prime Minister has prorogued Parliament, “no committee can sit during a prorogation."

This means that the Prime Minister has shut down the very committees who were studying and uncovering evidence on the WE contribution agreement that was contrary what the PM had said publicly.

It should also be pointed out that in 2015, the Prime Minister made a promise that his Liberal Government would never use prorogation to escape scrutiny.

My question this week:

Do you agree with the Prime Minister proroguing Parliament and shutting down these committees?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711. 

Back in May of 2020 the Trudeau Liberal Government announced their preference of four summer sittings of the House of Commons 'special COVID committee'.
These sittings were set in advance to occur on July 8, July 22, August 12 and August 26.

Many MP's and party leaders planned their schedules in order to participate on these days. 
As an example, this week I am in Ottawa where I was able to ask several questions to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion.
Unfortunately the Prime Minister planned his schedule to be away on this week's sitting and as such, could not be held accountable.
There are so many important questions right now. 
One asked by an NDP MP was: "How can Canadians currently receiving CERB plan for the transition to EI at the end of the month when it is just weeks away and they have no idea what the details will be?"
Unfortunately, the minister advised they are not in a position to provide any details until “next week." 

Next week is less than two weeks from the ending of the CERB benefit. 
If a citizen currently collecting CERB will end up receiving less funds on EI, this is something they will need to budget for.
I asked a number of questions including the challenge facing many expectant mothers who because of COVID were just short of accumulating the required hours to be eligible for the Canada maternity benefit.
Unfortunately, the minister was also unable to answer this question.
Also occurring this week, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois,Yves-Francois Blanchet, has demanded that that “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his finance minister and his (The Prime Minister’s) chief of staff resign.”
Mr. Blanchet has taken issue with details of the WE Charity contract as well as revelations the administration of the commercial rent relief program that went to a company where the husband of the PM’s Chief of Staff is employed as a senior executive. 
In order to carry out his threat, Mr. Blanchet indicated that the BLOC will table a confidence motion against the Trudeau Liberal Government this fall.
The only way such a motion could pass is if all three opposition parties, the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and Conservatives voted in favour.
Generally speaking, this is how many minority governments ultimately fall.

My question this week relates to this potential non-confidence motion.
In the event the Bloc Québécois was to table a non-confidence vote in the Trudeau Liberal Government that could potentially trigger a fall election, would you vote in favour or against?
I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.

​There are times, despite efforts to the contrary, that government at all levels end up running into situations where there is a “no-win” scenario.

Case in point, recently the Trudeau Liberal government announced a federal application (or ‘app’) for smart phones, designed to assist in COVID-19 contact tracing.

This app utilizes Bluetooth technology to exchange random phone codes whenever you are in close proximity to other users who are utilizing the same app on their cell phone.  

In the event one of these users has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, all other app users who were in proximity to this individual can receive a confirmation alert.

In order to satisfy individual privacy concerns the app does not use GPS tracking, nor does it record your identity or any of your personal identification. 

Currently this app is fully functional for the purposes of contract tracing in the Province of Ontario however it is my understanding that it will be coming to more provinces in the future. 

There have been some criticisms of the app, largely around the fact it is only compatible with smart phones that are not older than five years and also have the latest operating systems from Apple or Android installed. 

This leaves those with older devices, as well as those who do not use smart phones at all, out in the cold. 

It may turn out that some will be unaware that the app does not work with their existing phone, only to become surprised when it becomes clear that it will not operate on their device.

The bottom line here is the app is not perfect. 

From my perspective the government deserves credit for taking an innovative approach that has been successfully used in other jurisdictions. 

As with most technological approaches to public policy issues, it is only over time where further refining and enhancements of the technology can lead to widespread adoption and better results. 

I have written to the Privacy Commissioner in regard to this and his office has created a privacy framework for reviewing any Government of Canada contact tracing app.

Recently Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, stated that “Canadians can opt to use this technology knowing it includes very significant privacy protections," adding “I will use it.” 

After having done the research for this report and given my work involves a lot of travel and meeting various people at different kinds of Parliamentary meetings, I have chosen to install the app.

My question this week is:

Have you or would you download the Canada COVID-19 alert app on your handheld device?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.