SoVote

Mr. Patrick Weiler (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, Lib.)

Dec/10/21 10:02:09 a.m.
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Ama sqit, Madam Speaker. I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. It is a great privilege for me to rise to speak in support of the historic Speech from the Throne by Her Excellency Mary Simon, Canada's first indigenous Governor General. Over the last two years, Canadians have faced unprecedented new challenges, from a global pandemic to raging wildfires and extreme flooding, from a lack of affordable housing to the tragic discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools. The last two years have been a trying time for Canadians of all backgrounds from coast to coast to coast. However, despite these challenges, Canadians have come together, united by common goals and shared values. These shared values are the thread that ties together our national identity. Values like compassion, courage and determination have been on display in spades as Canadians have pulled together to overcome unprecedented challenges. It is this resilience and a commitment to these values that have inspired our government's priorities for the new parliamentary session because that is what Canadians voted for. They gave parliamentarians a clear mandate to collaborate and work together to deliver our future based on these values and to build a country where everyone has a fair chance at success. These values have already seen us through many of the darkest days of the pandemic and will form the basis for our recovery plans. Canadians have shown determination and compassion as they made personal sacrifices for the well-being of their families, friends, total strangers and the public good. These values have been a vital part of how Canadians have helped keep each other safe, and our government is determined to continue cultivating them as we look to finally put the COVID crisis behind us. Canadians have voted for a government that will mirror the compassion they have shown each other during these difficult times. They chose a government that recognizes the challenges that are leading to unequal outcomes for equity-seeking groups and a government that is committed to acting on them. Our government has already passed the ban on harmful conversion therapy with the unanimous consent of the House, and we will continue to take determined action to fight systemic racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms because everyone deserves to feel safe and respected and have an equal opportunity for success. Perhaps nowhere is the need for action more evident than along the path to reconciliation. There was a collective outpouring of grief this year as much of our country learned for the first time about the horrific history of residential schools with the discovery of unmarked graves at these sites. Walking the path of reconciliation will require the courage to listen to and learn the truth behind Canada's history with indigenous people. Our government is committed to facing this head-on and will shine a light on that truth to ensure that we can move forward in partnership, with indigenous people in the driver's seat. The government will respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and appoint a special interlocutor to further advance justice on the legacy of residential schools. The government will invest significantly in a distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategy guided by indigenous people and will make sure that communities have the resources and support they need to keep families together. The values that have gotten us through the pandemic will continue to guide us as we build back better in partnership with indigenous Canadians to a more just and equitable future. Just last month, Nanos conducted a poll of Canadians asking if they thought the next generation of Canadians will have a higher or lower standard of living than we have today. Sixty-three per cent of respondents said that the standard of living in the future would be lower. That is why we also need to move forward with courage. We need the courage to tackle the biggest challenges of our time, challenges like reconciliation, housing, affordability and, of course, climate change. Canadians chose to take strong and courageous action to build a better future, and this throne speech shows the government received that message and is committed to taking action to deliver on that mandate. It has become plainly evident that if we are going to build a more prosperous future, there is no time left to waste on climate action. B.C. is already facing the consequences of climate change. Unprecedented heat waves, fires and flooding have ravaged the province and cost hundreds of British Columbians their lives just this year alone. The consequences are severe and they are only to get worse unless we move forward on the real climate action that Canadians voted for. That is why this government is committed to capping emissions from the oil and gas sector and accelerating our path forward to a 100% net-zero future. We are also mandating the sale of zero-emissions vehicles and investing in public transit to build more human-oriented, affordable and sustainable cities. We will make sure cities, public transit and zero-emissions vehicles are powered with clean electricity as we invest in modernizing our electrical grid to make it 100% net zero by 2035. Importantly, our government is launching consultations on all these new measures by the end of this month. We know that we need to work with our indigenous partners so we can meet our ambitious commitment of protecting 30% of our land and oceans by 2030. Our government has much to learn from the leadership and collaboration that recently saw Howe Sound Atl'ka7tsem declared as Canada's 19th UNESCO biosphere region. Protecting and preserving our biodiversity will be vital to preserving the health of our country's unique ecosystems and preventing the rise of new pandemics. Getting to net zero and halting climate change is of the utmost importance, but we also need to adapt to the ways in which our climate is already changing. That is why the government is developing the first-ever national adaptation strategy, so we can make sure that we are prepared to withstand the effects of a changing climate. We need to work to build resilient infrastructure and communities that can withstand increasingly frequent weather events like those we have seen this year in B.C. While we tackle these challenges head-on, we will need to work hard to ensure that nobody is left behind. We need to ensure that Canadians can afford to live the sort of lives that make this country the best place on earth. In addition to raising over a million Canadians out of poverty through the Canada child benefit, we know that Canadian families are still quite stretched when it comes to the rising cost of living. For this reason, we have already signed child care agreements with nine provinces and territories that will cut fees in half in the next year and build hundreds of thousands of new child care spaces right across the country. I know this will be a lifeline for families in Squamish who are currently stuck waiting years to get a child care spot, and if and once they do, it often costs them over $100 a day. With this agreement, 40,000 new spots will be created in B.C. alone, and we will get to $10-a-day child care within five years or less. Building an affordable child care system will not only help families save more of their hard-earned money, but will also be a shot in the arm for our economy as we allow more parents to get back into the workplace and alleviate the current shortage of labour we are experiencing right across the country. We also need to tackle the worsening affordability of housing. The government is committed to continuing to build more and better housing as quickly as possible. The housing accelerator fund will invest $4 billion to build capacity at the local government level so that 100,000 new middle-class homes will be built, while encouraging better zoning bylaws and transit-oriented development so we can build more sustainable and affordable communities that provide a higher quality of life. Even still, we know breaking into the housing market can be a challenge for new homebuyers, so we are going to help families by improving the first-time home buyer incentive, bringing in a new homeowners' bill of rights and creating a rent-to-own program, among a swath of other measures to help reduce the barriers to home ownership. It is clear that now is the time to act on the biggest challenges we face in our country. There is no time to waste if we are going to build a future of prosperity, inclusivity and sustainability. Canadians have made their choice on how they want us to build back from the pandemic. They want a chance to believe that the future will be better than the past. They want to live on a planet with a healthy climate and clean air. They want the chance to own a home and to have a family. They want their children to inherit a better standard of living than they had. This is a future we all want, and now it is time to move forward with the same compassion, courage and determination we have seen during the pandemic and build that future together. ?ul nu msh chalap.

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Context: House Hansard - 15 - Dec/10/21

Mr. Patrick Weiler

Dec/10/21 10:12:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is a very important question. Even in my riding, which is not entirely within a downtown urban core, we face the same challenges. There is a huge wait-list for people to get access to child care, and it is a big challenge when we get into smaller communities. The agreement we signed with B.C. is going to create 40,000 new spaces, and it is important that those spaces are available where they are most needed. It is also important that there are flexibilities. Child care is of course delivered by the provinces and territories, so much of the discretion is up to the provinces. We can now see the details of the agreement. It was just released online yesterday or the day before. It goes through different items regarding how B.C. is going to deliver on this, and the action plan it has for each subsequent year.

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Context: House Hansard - 15 - Dec/10/21

Mr. Patrick Weiler

Dec/10/21 10:14:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question. As I said in my speech, as we look to the future, we need to think about everyone, particularly seniors. We have implemented a number of programs, including the rapid housing initiative, which seeks to create affordable housing for the people who need it most, like seniors. My colleague said that our government has not been there for seniors. I disagree. Over the past two years, we have given money to the most vulnerable seniors, and we will continue to be there for them, for example, by increasing old age security.

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Context: House Hansard - 15 - Dec/10/21

Mr. Patrick Weiler

Dec/10/21 10:15:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we launched consultations on the just transition a few months ago. This is very much a priority. It is in our campaign platform as well and I think it is important. I mentioned that we cannot leave anybody behind as we are going through these transitions. We absolutely need to be there for workers who are now very concerned about what their future is going to hold. That remains a priority of this government, and I look forward to seeing the results of this consultation and the legislation that will be forthcoming after that.

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