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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 10:59:28 a.m.
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I would remind the member that he is to address his questions and comments through the chair. He may want to use the words “he” or “she” as opposed to “you”. A brief question, the hon. member for Vancouver East.

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Remarks addressed to the Chair

Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Dec/2/21 10:59:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government recognizes there is a great need in terms of health emergencies. Right now, we have an overdose crisis in my riding of Vancouver East. More people are dying from overdoses than they are dying from the pandemic. Will the member work with the NDP and support our call to decriminalize and ensure that there is a safe supply so we can save lives?

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Mr. George Chahal

Dec/2/21 11:00:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, all our municipalities across Canada are faced with health emergencies in their cities. In Calgary, for instance, we have had a tremendous number of challenges in our downtown core with many of our most vulnerable, especially during this pandemic. We have great local organizations such as the Bear Clan Patrol that have stepped up to support community members in need. I look forward to working across the aisle with all parties in a collaborative manner to ensure we bring innovative solutions forward.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 11:01:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing I have noticed, and we saw it very recently, is that the Conservative Party wants to continue its personal attack on members of the House of Commons. Virtually from day one, and we can go back to 2015 or to the days when the leader of the Liberal Party was the leader of the third party in this chamber, the Conservative Party's agenda—

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Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 11:01:34 a.m.
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Order, please. It is very difficult to hear what the member is saying when members on this side of the House are yelling. I would say that it is more than heckling. Neither are acceptable when someone has the floor. I would ask members who have questions and comments to jot them down if they think they might forget them and they will have an opportunity to ask them after the member's speech. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

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Noise/conversations/heckling, interrupting Member speaking

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:01:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suggest that my Conservative friends pay a bit more attention to the policies that the government puts forward and less attention on the personal attacks, as we have seen on the Prime Minister and other members. At the end of the day, no matter what the Conservative Party determines is its priorities, our priorities will continue to be Canadians from coast to coast to coast and delivering good, sound public policy that is going to make a real difference. I want to talk about some of the things from the last election, some of the commitments I made to being an advocate in the House of Commons, ensuring that the government continued to move forward on issues that really matter. I have talked about the Canada child care program in the past and the millions of dollars, close to $10 million or maybe even a bit more than that today, that go to support children in Winnipeg North every month, and how important it is that the government continue to support that program. From a historical perspective, no government in the history of Canada has supported children in the same way that this government has in the last six years. We have lifted thousands of children out of poverty, and that includes hundreds in Winnipeg North. The Conservatives will have their own agenda, but I and other Liberal members of Parliament will continue to advocate for the best interests of children. That is one of the reasons why we are very proud of the fact that we are moving forward on $10-a-day child care. Does the Conservative Party not realize that we all benefit by that program? It would enable more people to be engaged in the workforce. The more people who are engaged in the workforce, the better it is for our GDP. One only need look at the wonderful province of Quebec, and many of my Quebec colleagues talk about the child care program and the positive impact it has had in Quebec. I am sure Ontario will come onside at some point, but all of Canada will benefit from the $10-a-day child care program. That is caring and listening to our constituents. It is advocating for programs that are going to make a difference. Another program—

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:04:51 a.m.
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The member says—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 11:04:51 a.m.
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Order, please. Members need to restrain themselves a bit for the respect of not only the individual who has the floor right now but also for this place. Again, if members have questions and comments, please reserve them for when it is time for questions and comments. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

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Noise/conversations/heckling, interrupting Member speaking

Mr. James Bezan

Dec/2/21 11:04:51 a.m.
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It'll take you 20 years to get there.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:05:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the problem is that I am very much limited on the time I can speak on all these wonderful initiatives, so I would appreciate it if the members on the other side would be more quiet. Another area in which this government has done exceptionally well is supporting our seniors. Again, from day one, we increased substantially the guaranteed income supplement. The GIS is there to support the poorest seniors in Canada. We gave substantial increases, approximately $900 annually, to the poorest seniors, again, lifting literally thousands of seniors out of poverty in all regions of our country. That happened even pre-pandemic. During the the pandemic, we gave direct payments to seniors, with an additional payment for those on the lowest income. We made an election platform commitment to increase payments to those seniors age 75 and over because of the limitations in terms of abilities and additional costs that they had to incur. It was 10%, which was unheard of. These are the types of commitments this government has made to our seniors from day one and we still continue to make them today. Listening to our constituents and advocating for programs really make a difference. That is what Liberal members of Parliament are doing. I would encourage my Conservative friends to get on board with some of these programs as opposed to suggesting, as they did in the last election, that our proposed child care program was not a good thing, that they would take it away. Now we have the new horizons program. The government has enhanced the funding for this program and continues to promote it, because it is to the benefit of seniors throughout the country. I would suggest that all members of Parliament look at that program and promote it in their communities. The program has tangible results for seniors in all our constituencies. Much like our support programs for seniors, such as new horizons, we also have programs for young people. Let us look at the youth summer program. Over the last five or six years, we have more than doubled of the program. Thousands and thousands of youth are getting employment, often their first opportunity for employment, because of this program. It is making a real difference in all our communities. Much like the new horizons program, which as members of Parliament we all get to contribute to the success of that program in our constituencies, members need to look at this program and promote it among their constituents. When I was first elected as a parliamentarian in 1988, one of the primary issues was health care. Health care is not just provincial jurisdiction. I know this will upset the separatists from the Bloc, but Canadians love and cherish our health care system. During the pandemic, we learned a little more about areas that needed more attention. I am thinking about national long-term health care. We need to have better long-term care for our seniors. This government is committed to delivering that. Every Liberal member of Parliament understands it and advocates for that in his or her constituency, and nation-wide. We understand the importance of medication. Since day one, we have invested literally hundreds of millions to keep prescribed medicine prices as low as possible for Canadians. In our throne speech in September 2019, we indicated that willing provinces should come and talk to us about the national pharmacare, because the only way we can have a national pharmacare program is if we have support from the provinces, and that is something we want to see. For the first time, we have a Prime Minister who understands the issue of mental health, and we have now incorporated that into national policy. That is something I believe all members of the House should get behind, because it is definitely something all Canadians want. They want government to play a stronger role on the issue of mental health, and we are seeing a commitment to that. I have to provide comment on reconciliation. This is something opposition members like to criticize. I can tell members that 80% of the 94 calls to action are being acted on in one way or another, with many of them having been passed. Whether it is regarding language, child care or a statutory holiday, this government takes the calls to action very seriously, and we are acting on them. I look forward to any questions that might come.

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All Topics

Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

Dec/2/21 11:11:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, while I deeply respect my colleague's passion, saying something louder does not make it true. While I appreciate that he is talking about child care and all of these things, I am curious to know why it is so much worse, if you are doing so many things. I have heard from your colleagues, saying that the cost of living is the worst, that we have never had a mental health crisis so bad and that things have never been worse, yet you are telling us that you are doing the best job possible. Why is it so bad, if you are doing such a great job?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 11:12:26 a.m.
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I am not telling the hon. member anything, and I would just ask her to address the questions through the chair. She may want to use “he” or “she” as opposed to “you”. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

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Remarks addressed to the Chair

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:12:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in terms of the manner in which I present myself, it is something I have developed in the last number of years of being an advocate, and the member can turn down the volume if she so chooses. At the end of the day I am very passionate about these issues, because I believe they are in the best interests of Canadians and the constituents I represent, and I believe a part of being an advocate is making sure I am being heard. I applaud the member for recognizing that the issues I have talked about are important. She is conceding that, and that is one of the reasons I would recommend that, as opposed to listening to nothing but the Conservative spin, she start looking at some of the things that are actually being done—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 11:13:37 a.m.
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I want to remind the member that she had a chance to ask her question. She should take the opportunity to listen to the answer. Questions and comments, the hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.

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Noise/conversations/heckling, interrupting Member speaking

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:13:37 a.m.
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—because on a lot of the issues she raised, she would see that there have been actions: literally hundreds of millions of dollars in commitments, and negotiations and discussions with the different stakeholders, in particular our provinces, territories and indigenous communities.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri

Dec/2/21 11:13:37 a.m.
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Go ask your constituents.

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Ms. Sylvie Bérubé (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, BQ)

Dec/2/21 11:13:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like the hon. member for Winnipeg North to elaborate on how we can grow the economy. As everyone knows, we are currently battling inflation. There are two solutions right now, specifically, child care and affordable housing. What is the government doing? It seems to be dragging its feet. What do you plan to do to help this situation, to help families buy their first home? Will you, the government, finally do something to fight inflation?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/2/21 11:14:37 a.m.
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I would remind the hon. member and everyone in the House that members must address their remarks to the Chair, not directly to other members. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

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Remarks addressed to the Chair

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Dec/2/21 11:14:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the greatest things we can do as a government, in terms of fighting inflation, is to create an environment that employs more people. The more people who are employed, the more contributions are going to be made to Canada's GDP, and that is one of the ways we can fight inflation. I would ask members to take into consideration that inflation, much like the pandemic, is not something that is unique to Canada. This is something that is taking place around the world, and because Canada took the initiatives it did, such as the wage subsidy program and the CERB program, supporting millions of Canadians and thousands of businesses, we are in a better position to ensure that Canada is in a great position to recover and get back. In fact, we have gotten back more jobs than we had pre-pandemic. That is the way we are going to be able to overcome, going forward.

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Mr. Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, NDP)

Dec/2/21 11:15:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for pointing out something that is very important, which is that health care in this country is shared jurisdiction. The federal government has a role to play. The existence of the Canada Health Act is proof positive of that, where we set conditions for the provinces to get money. There are five conditions in the Canada Health Act that provinces must meet in order to receive that money. I would point out that the words “health care” do not exist in the Constitution. All that is there is that the provinces are given the power to establish and maintain hospitals, so it is important to point that out. There is no mention of pharmacare in this throne speech. The price of drugs has not gone down since the government came to power in 2015. Why should Canadians take any comfort from the member's comment that they may have relief in terms of universal pharmacare?

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