44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 22, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, the member knows that the House and the federation we have created as Canadians are sometimes complex. I am learning, after spending almost a year here, that it is a very complex House and there is a very complex relationship between the provinces and the federal government. However, I do know that the $10-a-day child care initiative, which I believe created 37,000 new spaces in Quebec, is a big win for Quebec and a big win for Canadians.
We need to continue to look for ways to make investments and work out those details to ensure that they are in the best interests of Quebec and the best interests of the Province of Ontario and the rest of our partners across the country.
128 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, the member spoke eloquently about how dental care is going to make a huge difference for families. As he looks around at his Liberal colleagues, I note that most of them voted against dental care just a year ago.
I am curious if he could put himself back to a year ago. Families were struggling. Families needed dental care. Would he have voted with his Liberal colleagues against dental care then?
73 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, the nice thing about the House is that we have the ability to work together. It does not matter what party we are from. It does not matter what part of the country we are from. We have the ability to work together. I am very proud of the relationship we have been able to build in the House so that like-minded people can come together to actually get something done.
I think it is a huge accomplishment that we were able to introduce Bill C-31, which would actually, at the end of the day, make lives better for Canadians, especially for children under 12. I am very proud to support this bill.
117 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be back, glad to see you back in the chair here in the House and glad that we are getting on with the work that is important for all our constituents and for our country.
I want to speak to Bill C-31. Just in case viewers have lost track given previous speakers, what we are actually focusing on in Bill C-31 is part 1, the dental benefit act, which would provide interim dental benefits for many low-income families. Part 2 of Bill C-31 would enact the rental housing benefit act, which proposes a $500 one-time payment to eligible families with net incomes of under $35,000. Part 2 would empower the CRA to process the applications and payments for a one-time top-up payment of $500.
Bill C-31 is the beginning of a program for those most vulnerable, and it is our children under 12 who are going to benefit from that particular program. I would ask members to take a moment to think about when we were all in school. There were children who had significant dental problems. They were often bullied, abused and picked on. If this followed them through much of their lives and they continued to not be able to afford dental care, getting to high school and then the workplace and still not having the money required for the dental care they needed, what was that doing to their self-esteem and self-confidence as they tried to move along?
I would suggest that dental care is far more important than a lot of us might pay attention to. It is why I am so happy today to stand in support of Bill C-31. It is going to start us down a pathway of providing dental care to children under 12 of low-income families. This is the beginning of a new program that I think will clearly benefit all of Canada.
When we look at having to compete in the overall world, we need to be presentable. When we look at some of the homeless folks we see living on the streets, we notice one thing: They are all very badly in need of dental care. How long has that been? Have they been in that situation for many years? Is that part of what destroyed their self-confidence and self-esteem so that at one point or another in their life they are living on the streets?
Trying to tie it back, I think dental care is extremely important, and I am glad to stand today to support it along with the top-up on rental housing. As I said, when we think of dental care, we think about health and we think about finances, but dental care issues reach far beyond those two basic essentials. It is therefore of the utmost importance.
Let us think about it for a second. As I mentioned earlier, a person's healthy smile means healthy digestion, a healthy heart, healthy lungs and other respiratory organs and good overall health, because all of this is affected by bacteria in our mouths. Some of us may not realize that dental inflammation is a high risk for the brain for one simple physical reason: It is all located in the head.
Even more so, one's healthy smile is a social indicator that may affect the perception of our personality by other people. It is an indicator of one's well-being, which affects one's confidence and thus performance. If we talk to some of the folks who are struggling in our shelters and ask them what their life was like, clearly many of them do not have the confidence to go looking for a job, partially because of their appearance. Again, this goes back to their dental health.
However, given all of dental health's importance, it is not widely accessible. People are hesitant to address their dental health issues because it is expensive. For some it can be frightening as well. For many of the single-parent families that I represent and some of the low-income families, talking about going to the dentist is out of the question. They do not have any coverage whatsoever. To have to go to the dentist and put out $500 or $400 is just not possible for them. That is the kind of thing that gets put off, and eventually they have to deal with it but it could be much later on. It is about not having the resources.
As we move forward in our talks on dental care, I would hope we look at what the costs are in dental care. It is extremely expensive to go to dental school and become a dentist. We need to look at all avenues if we are going to try to improve the self-confidence of Canadians, avenues such as being able to become a dentist without having to mortgage one's house and whole future. It is very reflective in the prices that are paid and that is what prevents a lot of people from being able to access the help they need.
When we talk specifically about children's dental health, those limitations apply even more. For parents, especially in a tough financial situations, it is very difficult to convince themselves and their kids to go without groceries for a week because they have to go to the dentist.
A third of Canadians do not have dental insurance. In 2018, more than one in five Canadians reported avoiding dental care because of the cost. I do not think that is an unusual thing. An awful lot of people avoid going to the dentist until they are in severe pain. They certainly are not going for the average six-month check up and the kinds of regular things they should be doing. They go when they have no other choice than to get some assistance.
Our job, as representatives of all these families in Parliament, is to help the parents who struggle financially by investing in their children's health care to ensure we have done everything possible to help these kids grow up into healthy, socially active, confident and productive adults, future parents themselves.
With Bill C-31, our government makes a first step, or maybe I should say a leap, in ensuring an essential aspect of Canada's health care, namely dental care, is more accessible for those who need it. This support program would start with children under 12 in the period starting in October 2022 and ending in June 2024. The support would be allocated to uninsured families with an annual income of less than $90,000.
The list of reasons why dental health is important can be very long, but it always comes down to one thing: one's well-being. Well-being or happiness is a fuel for everything good we wish for our country: healthy families, active communities, a blooming economy and all other important things about which we care.
When we are talking about health care and child care, we have things that are necessary for a healthy Canadian society. I introduced a bill for first reading, which is coming up for second reading, Bill C-284. It calls for a national eye strategy. Apparently 75% of the blindness happening in Canada could be eliminated by more investments and more research. That bill will be coming up for second reading in November. It is about the health of Canadians overall. We can save money in a lot of different ways by ensuring were are making investments early on.
1281 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 1:53:46 p.m.
- Watch
Before we go to questions and comments, I want to remind everybody that as they start to come in, the sound level tends to go up. Also, for those who are often in the lobbies, please ensure to keep the tone down, because the noise does bleed into the chamber. We forget what it is like when all members of Parliament are actually in the chamber.
Questions and comments; the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.
78 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for the government member who just spoke. The government talks often about how much money it is giving to people, saying that it is going to give them more money here and more money there.
Does the government appreciate that it does not generate its own money? The money it gives away, it takes from either present people or from future generations. In fact, the government is doing that now with its planned scheduled tax increases on January 1 and April 1 of next year.
First, does the government acknowledge that any money it spends has to come from citizens or future generations? Second, does the member agree that now is not the time to be raising taxes?
125 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer my colleague's question. It is good to see him on the floor again. We have gone back and forth between us on a variety of issues.
I believe in investing Canadians. All our money does not come out of mid air. It comes from Canadians. It comes from each and every one of us. It is what we do with that money that matters. Investing in Canadians and giving them back the very money they have given to us in programs like eye care and health care, and investing in the right businesses that will grow the economy, all of those are important things that we have a responsibility to do to ensure that Canada continues to move forward. Money only comes from one place, and that is from each and every one of us.
143 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am really glad to hear the Liberal member's speech. The Liberals have finally seen the light: the importance of a national dental care program, something they did not see when they voted with the Conservatives against the motion that the NDP put forward just a year ago.
With that being said, we are looking forward to getting this program delivered for the people who need dental care services.
The member also talked about housing. Part of the problem with the housing crisis is the fact that the Liberals cancelled the national affordable housing program back in 1993, and the Liberals and Conservatives since that time have done nothing to address the financialization of housing, where REITs and corporate landlords are treating housing like it is a stock market.
Does the member agree that action needs to be taken now to stop the financialization of housing, so we can ensure people who need affordable housing will be able to access it?
164 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I will try to bring the temperature down a bit. We are here to debate and to discuss, but I do not want anyone to have a heart attack in the sense of trying to get a point across. The issue of housing—
46 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I asked legitimate questions of the member and for her to insinuate that the tone I am using is somehow going to cause me to have a heart attack is deplorable. It is patronizing and it is unacceptable. I would ask for an apology.
53 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 1:57:55 p.m.
- Watch
I thank the member for the point of order. I would ask the member for Humber River—Black Creek to maybe retract and rephrase.
The hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek.
34 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I absolutely did not mean to offend the hon. member. I know her passion when she speaks in the House, and I quite often applaud it and agree with many of the comments. However, I am very proud of what our government has done when it comes to housing. We have invested billions and billions of dollars across Canada with our rapid housing initiative, but all these things take time. They do not just materialize overnight.
I was told recently that a house that used to take eight months to build now takes 22 months to build. We cannot create them in mid-air, but the funds are there. It is happening all the way across the country, and I look forward to seeing some of those housing developments in the riding of my hon. colleague.
138 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, it is really interesting. Yesterday, we were debating supports for people with disabilities. It is historic legislation. Today, we are again bringing legislation that would be there to help people. Children under the age of 12 would be able to receive benefits, which would be a significant achievement.
Could my colleague provide her thoughts on why it is so important that we have a government that truly cares and delivers for people in real way?
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his continued work in the House on behalf of all Canadians.
The whole issue of investing in people is an important part. We are investing in Canadians; we are not investing somewhere else. We are reinvesting tax dollars to help people have a better quality of life. When I think of the $10-a-day child care and why I am a huge supporter of that program, it is the fact that hundreds of single mothers have told me they cannot go anywhere or get an education because they cannot afford child care. Now their children are in child care and they are in school or getting jobs. They will not end up as seniors in poverty, because of having had access to these programs.
135 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:00:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, our Liberal family lost one of its most loved members, Jim Higgins, to colon cancer on September 13.
Jim was one of the first people I met when I sought the nomination for Oakville North—Burlington. He worked in finance, mostly in the automotive industry, so it made sense that he was the only treasurer that Oakville North—Burlington Liberals have ever had. Even when facing difficult cancer treatments over the last three years, Jim continued to manage the books right up to the end.
Jim was a passionate Liberal, with a strong moral compass and sense of social justice.
His cozy English pub-style basement was the location of many gatherings when Jim and Tamara warmly welcomed people into their home.
He was devoted to his wife Tamara and his family, who are grieving his loss, along with his many friends and colleagues.
Canada is a better place because of my friend Jim Higgins. May he rest in peace.
164 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:01:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as the world mourns the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I know the city of Estevan is also mourning the loss of a man who was a pillar of the community, Ross LeBlanc. He passed away on August 29, at the age of 86, leaving a legacy that will carry on for generations to come.
Ross LeBlanc embodied the very definition of a hard-working farmer and saw the development of farming technology go from horse-drawn equipment to hydraulic automated systems. While his sons took over the farming business, Ross was still on the farm, watching the harvest just a few days before his passing.
Ross was also known for his music, performing as part of the Ross LeBlanc Trio. I recall just a couple of months ago hearing them play at the Red Market Barn, Kenosee Lake.
As a huge supporter of the Estevan Bruins hockey team from its inception, he purchased the team's first bus and attended every game he could.
I would like to extend my condolences to his wife Mary, their children Gwen, Marlin and Jason, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Ross was an incredible man and he will be deeply missed.
204 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:02:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of attending the 70th anniversary of Costi, a Davenport-based organization founded by the Italian Canadian community to assist Italian immigrants.
Since then, Costi has grown into a much beloved multicultural agency, welcoming newcomers and refugees of all nationalities to Canada. In recent years, it has been instrumental in settling thousands of Syrian and Afghan refugees, and is now helping to settle Ukrainians who are fleeing the unprovoked and illegal invasion by President Putin.
I want to thank president Pina Alberelli-Arone, incoming CEO Samina Sami and their incredible team of dedicated staff and volunteers for Costi’s remarkable work and accomplishments.
I also want to congratulate award winners OCASI’s executive director Debbie Douglas, Danby's CEO Jim Estill and Paramount Fine Foods president Mohamad Fakih for their inspiring and exceptional work in settling newcomers.
For seven decades, the vital work of Costi has built the layers of immigrants who are now proud to call Canada their home, and their contributions to Canada have made us a stronger and better country.
180 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:04:11 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in August, I had the honour of participating in a parliamentary mission to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe raid. This operation, which is also known at the disaster at Dieppe, took place in France on August 19, 1942, in the middle of the Second World War. Out of the 6,000 allied soldiers who participated in the landing, less than half got out alive.
The Fusiliers Mont-Royal regiment was the only francophone unit that participated in the raid. It sent 584 men, but only 117 came home.
Without question, the most thrilling and memorable part of my mission was meeting Gordon Fennell, a Quebecker from Montreal who is one of the few survivors of the operation. Gordon Fennell has lived to the remarkable age of 100. He was with us on the beaches of Dieppe 80 years later.
In Dieppe, Gordon Fennell was recognized with the Legion of Honour, the highest civilian honour in France.
I thank Mr. Fennell for his service.
168 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:05:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this week communities across Canada are joining together to recognize National Coaches Week. The goal of the week is to celebrate the tremendous responsibility coaches have in creating a positive impact on our athletes and communities.
During this week, thousands of coaches will be tagged with the hashtag #ThanksCoach and invited to participate in many activities, including online clinics and free virtual workshops.
This summer, my front row seat at the Legion Championships in Sherbrooke helped me appreciate how much coaches like Sandrine Charron do for athletes.
I congratulate the coaches who will receive the recognition they deserve for the work they do to help Canadians stay active and healthy.
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/22/22 2:06:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after she was diagnosed with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, local teacher Heidi Schlumpf used her 34th birthday on September 8, 2021, to spread acts of kindness with #putakinddeedinyourfeed. Sadly, Heidi passed away on August 10 of this year, but her legacy of kindness continued on what would have been her 35th birthday.
Across the area and beyond, friends, students, loved ones and complete strangers used the occasion to spread acts of kindness. Tim Hortons gift cards were left on car windshields, homemade cookies were given to seniors, pancake breakfasts were held at local schools, and diners were surprised with free lunches. More than anything, these acts of kindness leave a wonderful legacy for her husband and their four children: Priska, Daisy, Alice and Konrad.
We would all live in a better world with more acts of kindness in our lives.
143 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
