Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to express, on behalf of my New Democrat colleagues, our support for Bill C-321, an act to amend the Criminal Code, assaults against health care professionals and first responders. Once again, I would like to offer my gratitude and congratulations to my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George for his constant attention and care to our frontline responders in …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on this bill. As he knows, it follows a bill that I introduced in 2019 to do the same thing, to make it an aggravating factor in sentencing for there to be an assault on a health care worker. I noticed that in this bill, he uses the term “health care professional”, and he has expanded the protection to first responders. However, there i…
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Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, the nursing shortage has gotten worse everywhere in the country. A report today says that nurses in Ontario are leaving the profession because of inadequate wages and poor working conditions. We are losing them to private for-profit clinics, and patients are suffering. That is why the NDP called on the government to require public funds to go to public health care,…
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Mr. Speaker, the world just marked Earth Day and Canadians understand that climate change is an existential crisis. However, our actions have not met our aspirations or the urgency required. We must significantly reduce our fossil fuel usage. A clear majority of Canadians want the oil and gas sector to do its fair share. Oil and gas accounts for just 5% of our economy, yet is responsible for 26% o…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague and many of his Conservative colleagues have been talking about housing. I think one thing we all agree on in the House is that there is a crisis of unbelievable proportions related to housing in this country. I live in Vancouver and have been there for close to four decades. The rise in house prices began in the mid-eighties, particularly after Expo, and then cont…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke in his speech about the overdose drug crisis in this country. In 2010, I was part of the public safety committee that toured this country and studied the provision of mental health and addiction services in Canada's federal prison system. At that time, we came out with a number of recommendations to the Harper government, which included a number of positive t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague about consent rights under this bill. Individuals, under Bill C-27, would have significantly diminished control over the collection, use and disclosure of their personal data. The new consent provisions ask the public to instill what could be an extraordinary amount of trust in businesses to keep themselves accountable as the bill's exceptions t…
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Madam Speaker, I will keep it brief. Last week, my colleague from Vancouver East and I hosted a town hall on the environment and heard a lot of very passionate people talk about their concerns for the environment. We just saw recently that the Trans Mountain pipeline is now estimated to cost $30 billion, and it is going to expand bitumen export in this country. I wonder if my hon. colleague thinks…
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Madam Speaker, since 2015, I have become well aware of the importance of social determinants of health, and also how important preventative measures are. In this country, we have a hunger problem. Across this country, millions of Canadians go to school hungry every day. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a national nutrition school food program. The Liberals and the…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians need to know their government is using public money responsibly, especially when it comes to their health. However, the Liberals are refusing to tell taxpayers how much money they lost on a failed $200-million vaccine factory in the health minister's own riding, a scheme that did not produce a single dose of the COVID vaccine. When will the Liberals do the right thing and in…
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moved for leave to introduce C-328, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy on student loan debt. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce the student debt relief act, with thanks to the great member for Edmonton Griesbach for seconding this legislation. Far too many Canadian students have been forced to assume a crushing debt load simply to receive an education. In C…
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Madam Speaker, I enjoyed working with my hon. colleague on the health committee. I am a bit disappointed in my friend's pessimistic view of the efficiency of government. He seems to think government is not capable of delivering programs. He was highly skeptical that the federal government could deliver insurance for a dental plan. However, we know the federal government administers employment insu…
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Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to welcome members of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association to Parliament, especially Donna, Cindy, Bev and Juliana, who met with me this morning to share their experience and wisdom. Dental hygienists are essential primary health care professionals who are critical to oral health and who specialize in preventative care. This year, National Dental Hygienists W…
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With regard to the government’s contract with the Pacific Gateway Hotel in Richmond, British Columbia, for the provision of quarantine facilities and accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) on what date was the contract signed; (b) what was the end date for the contract; (c) what was the rationale for awarding the contract; (d) how much has the government paid to date for all services pro…
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Mr. Speaker, we know from NSICOP's foreign interference report from a few years ago that there are a number of countries alleged to be interfering in Canadian democratic processes. Does my hon. colleague think the motion is broad enough to encompass all those countries, not just China? I think Canadians want to make sure their elections are free and clear of all foreign interference, not just that…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for a very thoughtful speech. I have the pleasure of serving with him on the health committee, so I am used to his logical and fair interventions. The member raises some interesting concepts that I would characterize as comprising the rule of law. Everybody in the House and Canadians like to use that phrase. We all believe in the rule of law. It is the founda…
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Madam Speaker, New Democrats have been clear from the beginning of this issue that nothing less than a thorough public, transparent and independent inquiry would suffice to give Canadians confidence in our democracy and make sure future elections are free of foreign interference. In fact, we were the first party in the House to call for that. I happen to sit on the National Security and Intelligen…
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Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce a petition signed by many constituents in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, who point out that Canada has signed the 2030 Nature Compact, which commits us to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. They point out that the Fraser delta is recognized as a Ramsar wetland of international importance, a western hemisphere shorebird reserve network site and p…
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Madam Speaker, like my colleague, I think we are broadly supportive of the aims and principles of this bill but have some significant concerns about many of the details. This includes that the bill would open the door to new surveillance obligations; would allow the termination of essential services, perhaps without due process; may undermine privacy; lacks guardrails to constrain abuse; and has s…
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Madam Speaker, I think everybody in the House agrees that we need to up our game in this country to protect Canadians and our society from cyber-attacks. My specific question has to do with certain specific vulnerable groups. I am thinking of young people, particularly teenagers between the ages, say, of 13 and 19. Even more particularly I am thinking of young girls and women who may be subject to…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague and I sat through a study of the human resources crisis in health care. He knows, as well as I do, there is a screaming conclusion: Human resources are finite. The same pool of doctors, nurses and other health professionals currently working in the publicly funded system would be pulled from that system to work in the privately funded system. He knows that a parall…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague was relying on quotes, so I am going to share some quotes with him. Bernie Robinson, from the Ontario Nurses Association, said, “I fail to understand where the government thinks it's going to get the human resources to staff these private clinics other than by draining our already-taxed public system.” J.P. Hornick, from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, …
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Madam Speaker, I note that the Bloc Québécois voted against dental care and now it seems it will vote against the NDP motion to ensure we have a strong, publicly funded system. I do not think that is what Quebeckers want. However, my question is not really about the Canada Health Act today; it is about policy. It is about whether we are going to allow public dollars to be diverted to private-for-p…
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Madam Speaker, I say this with the greatest of respect, but there is a profound error in my colleague's comment, when he asserts over and over again that health care is a provincial responsibility in jurisdiction only. That is just incorrect. The Supreme Court of Canada said, “'Health' is not a matter which is subject to specific constitutional assignment but instead is an amorphous topic which ca…
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Madam Speaker, this motion calls on the government to close loopholes in the Canada Health Act. One of the most egregious of these is that while the Canada Health Act prohibits extra billing, which means doctors are banned from charging patients more than the medicare rate for insured services, private clinics get around that by advertising and offering surgery to patients from a different provinc…
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Madam Speaker, as we near the end of this debate, a couple of things have been made clear to me. One of them is that I have not once heard the Liberals stand up in this House and say they agree with the New Democrats that additional federal public dollars must go to public health care. They claim to support public health care. They claim to support the Canada Health Act. However, they will not say…
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Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote be held in this matter.
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moved: That, given that, (i) during the 2021 federal election campaign, the Prime Minister was harshly critical of the Conservative Party of Canada's proposal to encourage “innovation” in the health care sector by expanding for-profit provision of publicly funded services, (ii) the Prime Minister has now dramatically changed his position and has lauded as ‘’innovation” Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s …
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Madam Speaker, I do not disagree that provinces and territories should be sharing information and best practices, but the debate today is about national leadership. It is about the member's government and what it is going to do to help ensure that we not only protect but also strengthen and expand our public health care system. When the Prime Minister of the member's government is applauding a pri…
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Madam Speaker, we absolutely need to open up the Canada Health Act, but we need to do it for the purpose that the NDP is talking about today. This is to close the loopholes that are allowing private, for-profit care to creep into our system. Right now, we have a shortage of doctors in our hospitals. We have a shortage of nurses in this country. Staff are burnt out at every hospital. How can it pos…
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Madam Speaker, I respect my hon. colleague's position. Actually, health care has been ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada to be a shared jurisdiction in this country. We cannot even find the words “health care” in our Constitution. The provinces have jurisdiction over the establishment and maintenance of hospitals and also regulation of the professions. The federal government has its spending pow…
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Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners point out that in Canada more than 600,000 social housing units that were created between 1970 and 1994 were provided through long-term agreements with social housing providers. They point out that these agreements are essential to provide affordable housing options to people, particularly tenants, with a maximum of 30% of their income dedicated…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. In the first petition, the petitioners note that more than four million Canadians, including one and a half million children, live in homes where the families report food insecurity. They point out that it is important to remember that the health and development of children requires that they have access to healthy food, particularly in a school …
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Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues, one of the issues I have with this motion is that it does not place any emphasis at all on the role that corporate profits have in driving up the cost of living in this country. It is quite clear that this is the case. Another issue I have is with the Conservative orthodox economic thinking that deficits invariably cause inflation. If that were the case, we would h…
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Mr. Speaker, for-profit clinics across Canada are selling preferential access to surgery for those with the money to pay for it. They are exploiting a loophole in the Canada Health Act that is costing Canadians up to $28,000 per procedure. Even former Liberal health minister Jane Philpott says this contravenes the principles of medicare. New Democrats believe Canadians should have access to care b…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians cherish public health care. It is part of our national identity, a social contract that ensures we will be cared for when we are vulnerable, regardless of the size of our bank account. It is an affirmation of our collective commitment to equality and justice. However, our health care system is in crisis. Emergency rooms are overwhelmed; health care workers are burning out; m…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a real pleasure and a privilege to stand in the House and speak to supply management. At one time, I had the honour of being the official opposition critic for international trade, so I remember well this issue and how deeply it engages so many people who live in this country. I also recognize the threats that supply management has been under for a long time. This bill, Bill C-2…
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Mr. Speaker, at today's health summit, Canadians need the Prime Minister to champion public health care and stand against private, for-profit delivery. Privatization is not innovation. It drains workers from our public system, costs more and allows queue jumping for the rich. It will make the crisis worse. Real innovation is better support for health professionals, shorter wait times in our hospit…
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Madam Speaker, New Democrats support putting a price on pollution, but the Liberals' carbon pricing system lets big polluters off the hook. Under their output-based pricing system, Canada's biggest polluters pay the lowest carbon tax rate. These loopholes mean that oil and gas companies only pay a tiny fraction of the cost of their pollution. Of their emissions, 80% to 90% are exempt. For instance…
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Madam Speaker, at a time when the planet has to reduce its carbon emissions, oil companies are making record profits. Canadian oil and gas companies are forecasted to make a record-breaking $147 billion in 2022 alone. I want to read a short quote from UN Secretary-General António Guterres. He said the fossil fuel industry is “feasting on...subsidies and windfall profits while households' budgets s…
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Mr. Speaker, I happened to be in the House when the Conservatives were in government. I was there when the Harper government dismantled the network of community prevention centres and crime prevention programs across this country, even though evidence showed that, dollar for dollar, this was the best way to reduce crime and lower the number of new victims. I want to talk about the current issue of…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the bail situation in this country does require examination. I think I speak for all my constituents in saying that we all believe that the protection of the public is paramount in these cases, but equally so is the presumption of innocence. When someone is charged with a crime in our legal system, we must assume they are innocent. The current bail law says that a prosecutor ca…
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Madam Speaker, I bring a bit of personal experience to this debate, as my youngest child lives with a disability. She is 27 years old, and we have been working with other parents in the disability community, so I know how important this disability benefit is. I really share my colleague's comment that it is cruel to continue to make promises to this community and not deliver. However, I was in the…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-312, An Act respecting the development of a national renewable energy strategy. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce the national renewable energy strategy act. I thank my colleague from Port Moody—Coquitlam for seconding this legislation and for her tireless advocacy in support of environmental justice. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Ch…
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not present. That is the problem. Ontario hospitals are so overwhelmed with sick kids that they are calling in the Red Cross. Staff at the Alberta Children's Hospital are worried that a child might die waiting for care because it is overrun with patients. Across Canada, the situation is dire and parents are horrified, but the Liberals are missing in action an…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a lot in this fall economic statement worthy of support, and I think a lot to critique. My hon. colleague pointed that out as well. However, I take some issue with his recitation of history. I was in this House from 2008 to 2015, when the Conservative government ran deficits in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. After the 2008 economic shock, it ran six successive deficit…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise to speak to the fall economic statement, legislation that has been introduced in this House. New Democrats are supporting it because there are some important measures in the legislation that we think will help Canadians, and I will canvass a few of them. This legislation would introduce a Canada recovery dividend, under which banks and life insurance groups w…
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Madam Speaker, this legislation would increase the corporate income tax rates of banks and life insurance groups by 1.5% on taxable income above $100 million. It would eliminate interest on the federal portion of student loans and apprentice loans. Finally, it would enact the framework agreement on the First Nations Land Management Act. All of those are positive steps that are worthy of support in…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for that great question and her concern for students and making sure we facilitate the education of Canadian students. When I went to university in the 1980s, I and many of my friends came from working-class homes. We could go to university and work part-time jobs. Tuition was low, and we could get an education without going horrendously into …
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Madam Speaker, the great Canadian economist Jim Stanford just published a report through the Centre for Future Work, and he found the following: ...15 sectors...were...the source of the fastest price increases experienced in Canada since 2021. Products like gasoline, groceries, mortgage interest, home energy products, and building materials have led the acceleration of inflation—and those higher p…
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