44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 15, 2021 02:00PM
- Dec/15/21 2:14:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, before I commence my remarks, I was informed of some sad news, and that is the passing of Ken Greenall of 100 Mile House in my riding. I wish to pass my condolences on to his family. May eternal light shine upon him.
On behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, I rise to recognize the extraordinary career of sportscaster Earl Seitz of Kamloops. Earl began his broadcasting career a mere 54 years ago, many years before some in the House were born.
Earl has spent 48 years delivering sports news to the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I have fond memories as a child growing up in north Kamloops, and part of our daily ritual was to watch the news with Earl Seitz and Stu Blakely on CFJC TV7 – Take a Look. Things have changed since then, but Earl's characteristic professionalism and presence have not.
Please join me in saluting Earl's legendary career and wishing him the best retirement at 74 years young.
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- Dec/15/21 4:38:46 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.
My question is a narrow one. The mandatory minimum penalties sought to be repealed includes section 95 of the Criminal Code, which is one of the most serious firearms offences, because it is an unlicensed individual possessing a restricted or prohibited firearm. The Nur decision from the Supreme Court of Canada, which my colleague referenced, talked about the seriousness of that offence, endorsing language from the Ontario Court of Appeal, saying:
At one end of the range, as Doherty J.A. observed, “stands the outlaw who carries a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm in public places as a tool of his or her criminal trade.... [T]his person is engaged in truly criminal conduct and poses a real and immediate danger to the public”.
The vast majority of people may fall into this.
We have heard from the government that we do not want to capture people who may not fall into that on a first-time basis. Why then is the government repealing the mandatory minimum for subsequent offences for the people for whom that first time does not apply?
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- Dec/15/21 6:50:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today on behalf of the citizens of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.
Veterans and their families feel left behind by the government, to say the least. The veterans ombudsman, veterans advocacy groups and caseworkers from Veterans Affairs Canada have all come forward ringing alarm bells about the failures of the government when it comes to veterans. What has the government's response been on this point? It has been largely silence.
Allow me to paint a picture of Veterans Affairs Canada and the reality of its situation today. Currently, there is a backlog of tens of thousands of veterans waiting for their claims to be processed and adjudicated by the department. Some are waiting as long as two years for therapeutics or assisted-living devices. I would ask government members to imagine waiting two years for the necessities of life, such as a wheelchair and hearing aids, or compensation for injuries sustained while serving our country.
With the greatest of respect, it is shameful that we treat our veterans this way. In the two years that the backlogs have been particularly accrued, we have seen two elections from the government and a doubling of the national debt. However, none of the money seems to be going toward veterans.
How should we deal with these claims? The way to deal with them would be through case managers at Veterans Affairs Canada. The department set a target of 25 cases per manager. This would allow each case manager to get to know files quite well. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are 40 to 50 different files for each case manager. That is less than one hour per week for each person who served our country.
I recall that in my former life as a parole officer, it was the same thing. When a person doing a job does not have time to adequately address files, things will ultimately slip through the cracks. We should be supplying veterans with more resources, not less. When workloads get too high, we see burnout. Commensurate with burnout, we see stress leave and medical leave, and then work gets shifted onto peers. When work gets shifted onto peers, we see more of the same, and a vicious cycle keeps perpetuating itself.
Seventy-four per cent of caseworkers say their workload has negatively affected their health, 32% have had to take time off work, 18% sought professional help and 25% have considered leaving the department altogether. The government plans to cut 300 caseworkers in March 2022, and these are some of the people, if not all, who have been hired to alleviate the current backlog. Apparently, according to the government, veterans are asking for more than we can give them. That is straight from the Prime Minister.
The budget never balanced itself. Will the backlog of veterans also clear itself, in the government's eyes?
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- Dec/15/21 6:58:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend and congratulate the hon. parliamentary secretary on his appointment. I had some remarks prepared, but I want to address some of the parliamentary secretary's comments.
The parliamentary secretary said that people had been hired. However, the information in my office is that many of the people who have been hired will not be retained past March 2022. Could the hon. parliamentary secretary please answer this question: How many will be retained after March 2022?
The hon. parliamentary secretary further noted that the government is committed to hiring more staff. My second question is: When will that staff be hired? The third is: What are the case numbers today? The fourth is: What will the case numbers be in March 2022?
These are four tangible questions. If the parliamentary secretary could answer them, I would be obliged.
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