44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 7, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, my colleague asked an excellent question.
One day, we will have to think about the maximum number of members in the House. Some legislatures have done so, and I think that we will likely have to do that one day. I very much want to participate in that debate, always keeping in mind the best interests of the voters who send us here to Ottawa to represent them and the work we must do to represent them properly. That said, I do not see how we would be able to have 600 members here if Canada's population were to grow that much.
For now, though, it is important to at least maintain the same number of seats and then eventually settle on a maximum number. We are not there yet, since we have not had the necessary debates. Canadians will have to be involved in the debate. It cannot be held just here in the House.
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- Apr/7/22 2:40:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is disgusting that Newfoundland and Labrador has to come to Ottawa, cap in hand, and beg to get our natural resources developed. One stakeholder told me that delays in Bay du Nord have investors rating their projects at a 50% higher risk of never being developed on our offshore.
Will the NDP-Liberal minister commit to maximizing the number of energy jobs in Bay du Nord by exempting it from the federal carbon tax?
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- Apr/7/22 2:44:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question.
I have never owned a car, and probably never will. However, the train I take to Ottawa, the airplanes many of us use, run and will run for a long time on oil—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental flaw in terms of what the member is talking about.
It is a whole lot easier to get from Edmonton or Calgary, let us say, to Ottawa than it is from many Ontario communities. In fact, one might have to take a long drive to an airport to take another airplane to come to Ottawa: Canada's capital.
My concern is that, number one, the member should not try to give the impression that one has to live close to Ottawa to have influence. I like to consider that I carry some influence, as the member no doubt carries influence, and I am from Winnipeg.
One does not have to be from Ottawa in order to have influence. That is my suggestion to the member. Second, with respect to the bill itself, would the member not recognize that the simplicity of the bill is to ensure that we recognize that no province should have a reduction in the number of seats based on the last federal election? Would he not agree, simply put, that this is a good thing and something worth voting for?
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Mr. Speaker, I did note, right off the top of my speech, that I was supporting this bill. I even noted that I was doing that for the benefit of the member for Winnipeg North, so I am pleased that he listened to my speech.
The other point I would make is that my point all around distances to Ottawa was not so much that we can change that but that this is a matter of fact. We cannot change the fact that Ontario is closer to Ottawa than Alberta is. We should just respect these things that are a matter of fact and respect the idea that representation by population is a matter of fact.
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- Apr/7/22 4:42:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec, the provinces and Quebec's health sector are calling for an increase to the Canada health transfer to cover 35% of system costs. Not only is there no health transfer increase this year, next year, the year after or the years after that, but the government goes so far as to write that if the provinces call Ottawa, they will be advised about how to better manage their health care systems and make them more effective.
Can the minister tell me why she thinks that a government that has never managed a hospital in its life can manage health care systems better than the provinces?
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