SoVote

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 10:06:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table a petition regarding the overdose crisis and the preventable opioid overdoses resulting from fentanyl-poisoned drugs. It is timely, as we lost people in my community over the weekend to a poisoned drug supply. The petitioners from Port Alberni are calling on the government to declare that the current overdose crisis and fentanyl poisoning crisis is a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act in order to properly manage and resource it with the aim to reduce and eliminate preventable deaths. The petitioners want to reform drug policy to decriminalize personal possession and create, with urgency and immediacy, a system to provide safe, unadulterated access to substances so that people who use substances experimentally, recreationally or chronically are not at imminent risk of overdose because of a contaminated source.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 10:31:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about the government's world-class oceans protection plan. Members are well aware there was a marine debris spill off the west coast in October. That debris is landing on our shores, and the government has basically left it up to the contractor and the company to deal with the cleanup. Meanwhile, the stuff is showing up on the shore, polluting our ecosystem, and the company is nowhere to be found. It has been left on the backs of indigenous communities and local cleanup organizations. When is the government going to fix this loophole? Is it going to establish an ecosystem service fee on the transshipment of cargo units so that there are funds in place for local communities to address this issue, instead of waiting for the polluter to fix it? Clearly, it is not taking enough action to fix this huge problem on the west coast.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 10:48:16 a.m.
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Before I get started, I want to wish my oldest daughter a happy 22nd birthday: Happy birthday, Maddie. Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's talking about mental health and addictions. People who are struggling, and it is getting worse for them, especially through the pandemic. The people who have the most complex issues and who require complex care certainly need a place to live to start with. He talked about the rapid housing initiative. We had a good application in my riding from non-profits, women's organizations, indigenous support and local government support, but we have people who are living on the street with complex issues. It is costing them, costing lives and costing taxpayers. It takes a lot of money to respond to that need. At the pace the government is going, it is going to take 45 years to house the homeless population in our country. Will the member lobby his own cabinet to increase investments into housing for people who are the hardest to house and also to increase investments into non-market housing? I urge the member to work with us. We would like to see a wealth tax on those who can afford to contribute.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 11:52:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I find it amazing that this member is now up for the third time on the reply to the Speech from the Throne, given there are over 100 members on that bench who have not spoken on it. I am going to follow up with my friend, the member for Abbotsford, who just asked about the three-digit hotline. This member says the government is keen on it, but that is not good enough. The House voted unanimously to support moving toward a three-digit hotline to support people living with mental health issues. It is not about being keen. Is his government committed to following through with the motion that was passed unanimously in the House of Commons? It is going to save lives. Right now, we have a suicide crisis. It is the second leading killer for young people under the age of 34. Will the government respond and follow through with the direction of the House of Commons?

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 12:07:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a delight to get up and talk about a speech from my colleague, because he does such important work, whether in bereavement or in work around suicide prevention. I have joined him every year on Father's Day to talk about men's mental health and suicide among men, because men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women are. It is important that we stand united, and he has my assurance that I will absolutely be joining him this year. I do wish his daughter a happy birthday as well. I just met with the National Collaborative for Suicide Prevention. It is still waiting for a motion introduced by my friend and colleague from Timmins—James Bay that was passed unanimously in this House and that we all supported. Here we are three years later, at the height of a mental health crisis as a result of COVID-19 and many other factors, and we still do not have a national suicide prevention action plan. Does my colleague agree that the government needs to move quickly, that we are in a crisis when it comes to mental health and death by suicide, and that the government needs to respond or we will lose more lives? This is urgent.

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Context: House Hansard - 21 - Feb/1/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 1:35:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have concerns right now. In the Speech from the Throne, it says the government is continuing to work on the reform of policing in Canada, yet we have not seen any action. In fact, right now we are hearing from land defenders, from indigenous communities, who see a double standard happening in Canada. We have a protest right now that is keeping Ottawa under siege. Seniors and people living with disabilities cannot access medicine or food. In Alberta, the member's home province, those same types of protestors are keeping that border, not just an artery but the border, under siege right now. Goods and services are starting to get destroyed because of the waiting, and workers cannot get access to medicine and food. Does my colleague not agree there is a double standard, and what does he propose to unlock the seizure? Does he think this is acceptable behaviour?

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