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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 161

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 161 - Feb/15/23
Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)
  • Feb/15/23 7:37:39 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-39 
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague, who often speaks in this place about the need for justice and the need to ensure that those who are left behind actually get support. I often find myself thinking about solutions. New Democrats have tabled solutions to fix one of the core drivers of the mental health crisis in Canada, which is poverty. Poverty is one of the greatest contributors to the mental health crisis in this country. We have tabled solutions, and I understand the Conservatives may disagree with some of those solutions. One of them is the guaranteed livable basic income. Could the member, given the kind of description of the problems of poverty and the effects it has on mental health, offer at least one solution so those who are struggling to pay their rent and struggling to pay for their groceries can ensure that they get that kind of support? Could the member elaborate on that?
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Context: House Hansard - 161 - Feb/15/23
Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)
  • Feb/15/23 8:08:05 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-39 
Madam Speaker, I just align with one of my colleagues, the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby, in relation to doing everything we can for those who may be suffering before it gets to the point of an application for medical assistance in dying. Earlier today, for example, one of our colleagues gathered folks who were suffering from immense pain and living day by day, not knowing what to do. That pain contributes to their overwhelming feeling of despair, which then leads them to apply for something like medical assistance in dying. In fact, the government could put in place regulations to support these folks before they get to that place. They could ensure psilocybin, a treatment that they are calling for; they have already established a right to have access to this treatment. Would the member speak to the importance of ensuring that we do everything we can to support these folks, including providing medicine that they desperately need?
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Context: House Hansard - 161 - Feb/15/23
Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)
  • Feb/15/23 8:23:18 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-39 
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for what I think is an important intervention. I will agree with him in some part that this is an important moment for Canadians. Hopefully, this bill allows us the time to contemplate what the important steps will be to ensure that we listen to community members. This means not only those who are suffering from mental illness but also those who are combatting poverty and their contributors to it. Then, we can actually have a chance to do this work during this period and do the things that we need this law to do to ensure that vulnerable folks do not fall victim to an easy way out. Could the member ensure that the government works hard to do the consultation, talk to those folks and make sure that there are pathways before this becomes the decision they do not have to make?
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