44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2023 11:00AM
- Feb/13/23 2:37:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to protecting Canada's most vulnerable. Thanks to measures put in place by our government, hundreds of thousands of seniors have been lifted out of poverty, as have hundreds of thousands of Canadian children. We have done that while maintaining Canada's AAA credit rating and having the lowest debt and the lowest deficit in the G7.
We can be compassionate and fiscally responsible at the same time. That is what we are doing.
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- Feb/13/23 2:41:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern, which is precisely why a number of my colleagues and I have been in direct contact with the City of Toronto to make sure it is getting the support it needs when it comes to mental health, homelessness, poverty and other social determinants that lead to crime. We are also providing additional supports for law enforcement.
At each and every critical juncture when the Conservatives have had an opportunity to support these measures, what have they done? They have voted against. If they are serious about protecting our communities, they should support the policies of this government, because that is how we are going to better do that.
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Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague quoted one of his favourite sentences, and I would like to hear his comments on the following sentence: Perfection is the enemy of the good.
Are we not letting people suffer as a result of the constant desire to set limits and constraints? Is the Conservative Party not falling into a trap? Instead of protecting life, they are protecting suffering.
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Uqaqtittiji, there are real concerns from indigenous communities about MAID. I have heard from constituents of mine who have family in places like British Columbia who are vulnerable, have severe mental health disorders, and have love from their family, but are separated from their family. A mother is very concerned about her daughter. She heard from a friend that her daughter had applied for MAID and was being considered.
When I talk about MAID, I do not see it as an issue about suicide. Suicide is very different for indigenous communities. MAID is about dying with dignity. It is a privilege that most indigenous people do not have. It is more about how we can make sure that we are protecting indigenous people.
I wonder if the member has any ideas about what this government needs to do in the coming year to protect those most vulnerable communities, especially indigenous peoples who we need to make sure are not being taken advantage of.
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Mr. Speaker, the bill, at this point, is necessary for us to ensure that we are protecting the most vulnerable. To me, and to many of us, as we are hearing, it speaks to a bigger issue: The government is leaving many behind.
I appreciate that my colleague spoke to the importance of closing the social safety net and spoke about the importance of disability supports, appropriate mental health supports, affordable housing and a guaranteed livable basic income. There are many components necessary for us to move forward to address the bigger issue.
I wonder if the member can share with us what he is hearing from constituents in his riding regarding what is most vital for us to move forward with so that those who are struggling the most have what they need to get through each day.
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Madam Speaker, when we were looking at Bill C-14 two Parliaments ago, there was a statutory requirement for a review. The government went ahead and introduced Bill C-7 before we ever did that review. It accepted the Senate amendment to its bill before it established the special joint committee, of which I was a member, both in the previous Parliament and in this one. We struggled with many of the issues the member highlighted in his speech. Two of the themes we were grappling with as a committee were respect for individual autonomy versus protection of the vulnerable.
I share the member's concerns with this. How, in his mind, do we try to rectify those two concepts, so that we are respecting a person's autonomy to make decisions that are in their own interest but also making sure that we as a society are protecting the most vulnerable?
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