SoVote

Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Dec/13/21 2:15:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the people of South Okanagan—West Kootenay for giving me the honour of representing them in this chamber, and we are debating some of the most important issues of our time here: climate change, the pandemic, deadly opioids and a housing crisis. Canadians expect us to all work together to solve these problems. This is a time of year when we think of less fortunate Canadians, whether they have lost their jobs during the pandemic, lost their homes to fire, flood or renovictions or whether they simply find it more difficult to pay for groceries. For all Canadians, this is a time of hope, and they have invested some of that hope in our deliberations here to build a fairer Canada. This is a time of year for family. This is my parents' anniversary. For my wife's family, with their Swedish ancestry, this is Santa Lucia, a time to celebrate light in the darkness of winter. I wish you, Mr. Speaker, and all Canadians a safe and happy Christmas.

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Context: House Hansard - 16 - Dec/13/21

Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Dec/13/21 3:27:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a petition here from Canadians from British Columbia who point out that the costs of prescription medicines are excessive across the country and that, very widely across the country, those costs continue to rise. Many Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions, so the petitioners ask the government to develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian, single-payer universal pharmacare plan across Canada.

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Context: House Hansard - 16 - Dec/13/21

Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Dec/13/21 5:30:10 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about the opioid crisis: the tragedy of hundreds of people dying every week and every month across this country, especially in British Columbia and in my riding. He talked about the need for a solution-based attitude toward this. If we listen to the experts, the Vancouver Police Department, the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia, they are all calling for the decriminalization of small amounts and safe supply, which would keep people alive, get them into the right programs and get rid of the property crime that is associated with addictions. Would the member agree with that, as the Conservative who ran in my riding during the election did?

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Context: House Hansard - 16 - Dec/13/21

Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Dec/13/21 5:59:40 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, would the member agree with the NDP suggestion to bring this bill before committee before the vote at second reading? We could expand the bill and make it a solutions-based piece of legislation. We want this bill to be something that would tackle problems such as decriminalization, and make sure that addictions are a health issue and not a criminal issue. We want to make sure there is a safe supply. We want to have the records expunged of all the people who have minor criminal records for cannabis possession. These are things we really have to tackle, and this bill would have been the perfect place to do that. We can only do that if we bring this forward before the vote at second reading so we can expand this bill and make it really worthwhile.

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