SoVote

Mrs. Laila Goodridge (Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC)

Dec/6/21 5:24:39 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-3

Madam Speaker, I remember very clearly that a couple of weeks into September, about a week before the election, we saw protests happening at the hospitals and health care centres across this country. As a brand new mom and a federal candidate, I remember thinking about how scary it would be if I were going into labour and trying to get to a hospital that was blockaded by protesters. I know many watched in horror as these protests happened all across the country. In Alberta, we saw those protests happen at two of our major hospitals: the Royal Alexandra in Edmonton and the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. I am very proud to say that luckily we did not have any of those protests in my riding of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake at our amazing health centres and hospitals. However, we very easily could have. One thing I am really proud of is that the Conservatives' campaign plan actually had a protection proposal for Canada, the critical infrastructure protection act. It would have prevented any protesters from blocking infrastructure such as hospitals, roadways, rail lines and pipelines. As some members in the House have already pointed out in this debate, these protests are evolving. A few months ago the protests were happening in hospitals, but this weekend we saw protests in the West Edmonton Mall. We do not really know what the next place for these protests will be, and while I believe that all members on this side of the House support the idea of peaceful protests and understand that it is a fundamental right here in Canada to peacefully protest, many of these protests, unfortunately, have been very violent. It is these violent protests that are the problem. I remember watching as traffic was being directed around the Royal Alexandra and the Foothills hospital. I watched it on the news. Police officers were allowing ambulances to get through, and I cannot imagine what that would have meant for me had I had a family member who was trying to access one of those hospitals at that point in time and was delayed in getting there. I think there is overall agreement on this, but the bill is a bit too narrow because we are only protecting certain small locations. One thing that is critically important to do is thank our health care workers. Our health care workers have stepped up. They have brought us through this pandemic by smiling through their masks, by protecting us and by serving us to the best of their ability, often working extra shifts to make sure that all patients had the very best of care. I am someone who is generally quite healthy and I do not go to hospitals. However, having been pregnant this last year, I probably went to the hospital more often than I had gone in the 10 years prior. I was very grateful that each and every time I went to the hospital, I was greeted by friendly, amazing health care workers who really did step up. That is one of the big pieces. In my hometown of Fort McMurray, we saw countless acts of kindness toward our health care centre, the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre. At the very beginning of the pandemic, flooding hit the community of Fort McMurray and hundreds of people stepped up, filled sandbags and protected the hospital from flood damage. We saw people putting the needs of the many well ahead, and it was spectacular to watch. We also had some pretty unexpected health care heroes who stepped up and helped us in a way that really hit close to the heart of so many, me included. We had help come from far away. We had a team of seven spectacular health care workers: two doctors, four nurses and one nurse practitioner. They flew to Fort McMurray all the way from Newfoundland and Labrador to help us in our surge capacity. We welcomed them with open arms. We did everything we possibly could as a community to make sure these health care professionals knew they were supported and welcomed in our community. I think there needs to be more done in general to show our thanks. I remember chatting with Brian, a constituent of mine, during the campaign. He decided that he was going to show his support for our health care workers, so he and his company bought hundreds of donuts from Tim Hortons on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and brought them to our hospital to thank our nurses and doctors. He said it was a double win because the money went toward amazing charitable organizations to help further truth and reconciliation, and it was a tangible way of thanking our nurses and health care professionals. Little acts like the one by Brian need to be done more often. We need to show kindness, compassion and a level of respect. I am blessed to have some amazing friends who are nurses working at our hospital. They are always there. I know many of them have given up their evenings and weekends and have taken on extra shifts. They do that gladly because they are there to serve. I think of one particular friend, Katie, and all of the amazing work she has done in going from team to team to make sure that our health care centre, our hospital, has all of the nurses in the right places at the right time and with the right training. I think about the nursing students who joined our hospital before finishing all of their schooling so they could help in our time of need. It is these kinds of things that really are important. It is about compassion and kindness, and they need to be shown. Often when these protests were happening, they turned quite violent, and respect and kindness were not witnessed. It is therefore critically important to make sure we find a balance so that peaceful protests can happen. However, I do not think a hospital or health care centre is necessarily the best place to have protests of any form, to be perfectly clear. Most people who go to hospitals are not going because they choose to go, unlike our health care workers. Most people are going because they are under some kind of duress or in distress. They would rather not be there, so seeing these protests probably does not make their lives any easier. The bill, as some of my colleagues have mentioned, is a bit of an omnibus bill that clashes together many pieces, and I think we should bring it to committee to explore all of its different pieces and consider its intent. I have heard some great speakers on the other side explain some of the rationale behind the bill, but I really think it would benefit from further exploration at the committee stage to ensure that we are always putting forward the best possible legislation for all Canadians so we can serve Canada as a whole.

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Mrs. Laila Goodridge

Dec/6/21 5:34:50 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-3

Madam Speaker, I think the member's question was very misplaced, but I will thank him nonetheless. Our caucus has shown a great deal of leadership, as have all members of the House, in following all of the rules and acting with that leadership space. I was previously a member of the provincial legislature in Alberta. I shared some of my personal medical history. I actually got my first dose of the vaccine when I was 20 weeks pregnant. I very proudly did so, because I thought it was important for women across the province of Alberta, as well as across the country, to see that their leaders were making those decisions. Based on medical advice that I had received from my health care team, I made that decision. I encouraged others to talk to their doctors. That is one of the things I think is really important: to make sure that everyone is taking that time.

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Mrs. Laila Goodridge

Dec/6/21 5:37:03 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-3

Madam Speaker, during the last election campaign, we included protecting critical infrastructure such as hospitals, pipelines, highways and railroads in our platform. It was a really popular issue, as we saw in many provinces across the country, including Alberta, where I am from.

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Mrs. Laila Goodridge

Dec/6/21 5:38:57 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-3

Madam Speaker, the member has raised a very important question in regard to this bill. It is a question that we really need to take to committee to be able to study further and to see some of those answers. We have not been able to have members from the other side of the House give us any clarification as to whether this piece would actually apply to contractors or other federally mandated and regulated employers. That is important—

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Mrs. Laila Goodridge (Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC)

Dec/6/21 7:14:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to rise today as I do not feel I received a satisfactory answer from the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development when I asked my question originally. Not only does a child care deal not kick in for about five years, according to the government's own plans, it is completely separate from the issue of inflation. Yes, child care costs are high, but it is not why the cost of gas, home heating, groceries, diapers and pretty much everything else is going up faster than it probably should be. In fact, I would expect that the rising prices across the entire economy will probably get worse as government spending continues to increase. Quite frankly, child care providers will have additional costs put on them if inflation continues to increase. They have to buy groceries for the children. They have to heat their facilities. There are many additional expenditures that will go onto those child care providers, and I am very curious how they will make ends meet. Lowering child care costs is incredibly important for families that have children in need of care, but let us face some very important facts that this is a very small percentage of the population. It will not help people who have no children or families that have older children. It will not help seniors. It will not help the family with the stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home dad. It will not help a family that works shift work whose children need overnight care. So many families are being left behind by those answers, and I really do want to hear what the government is doing with the very real issue that is inflation. Families are coming to me and sharing their concerns about making ends meet this month. While it is wonderful to hear that some plans are in place to help some families, this does not help the senior down the street who is really struggling with the fact that groceries have gone up in price exponentially in the last little while. It does not help the families that are struggling today. Therefore, I really want to hear an answer from the government on how it plans to address this very real concern around inflation.

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Mrs. Laila Goodridge

Dec/6/21 7:21:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, at the beginning of the minister's speech, she talked about the fact that inflation is a worldwide problem. Yes, it is a worldwide problem. However, it is worse in Canada than almost any country around the world. That is really important to know because, quite frankly, we need to make sure that what we are doing is actually taking care of all Canadians. The concern that I brought up around inflation is a real concern that is facing many families. When I shared the clip on my social media, seniors reached out to me and sent me personal messages. They are very concerned that the question was important, was dismissed by the minister and that the real concerns about inflation and the cost of groceries going up were not being addressed. I live in northern Canada. I live in northern Alberta and groceries are more expensive—

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