44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 10, 2023 02:00PM
- May/10/23 5:23:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just cannot thank my colleague enough on behalf of everybody in my riding whose family is struggling with the circumstances around a loved one's disability. I do not want to suggest all of them are struggling. Many of them thrive thanks to great community support. It is great because of a lot of volunteers. It is great because of organizations like the Special Olympics.
There is an organization in my riding that is really special called the Special Friends Network. I have spoken to the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin about the Special Friends Network before and how it brings so many people together for sports, arts and all sorts of different things. It just does such extraordinary work.
I just stood today to thank my friend and colleague for dedicating his private member's bill to this, and moreover, for dedicating much of his political career to standing up for people who live with disabilities. His work is exemplary and I thank him very much for it on behalf of everybody in Milton and across Canada who relies on this progress.
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- May/10/23 6:02:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and friend for his guidance and leadership.
It is a very good example of where the real experience is lived in a diverse House of Commons. We are making the best policies and we are making progress.
That is an excellent example. On behalf of all the families in Milton living with a person with a disability, I thank the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin.
I would like to stand up today and talk about how this motion really leverages a lot of our collective work on our disability inclusion action plan. It is fantastic that we can work together and find ways to improve the lives of Canadians and work across party lines, as I have with this particular member for as long as I have been here. He definitely represents the best of this place and, again, I want to commend him for that effort.
The first pillar of our disability inclusion action plan is our employment strategy. The motion would definitely leverage this and ensure that it is as effective as possible. Last year, we launched a $200-million employment strategy for people with a disability. Ensuring that more of these funding programs are directed to persons living with a disability is so important.
The second pillar, which this motion would leverage, is the Canada disability benefit. The member and I have spoken one-on-one before, and I have spoken with many members of my community as well, about people who are now children or are young people who will age out of care, as well as people who have a disability of any form whose support network will leave them one day. We need to ensure that there is support for those individuals and groups when their support network leaves them, and they do not have support they had relied on for so many of their lived years.
The third pillar is all about eliminating barriers in physical spaces. I know that many programs in my community have applied to the enabling accessibility fund. This is for building physical structures that eliminate barriers, such as ramps, elevators and various other devices that support disability inclusion.
However, I also want to acknowledge that the things that we can add to our society to correct for curbs, stairs and other barriers resulting in inaccessible physical space include far more than just physical things. I want to mention one of my neighbours, Carly, who is currently engaged with the town of Milton in building a new kind of playground for kids with various sensory differences. She is also raising a flag for Disability Awareness Month. I want to commend everybody in Milton who is working on that particular project. It will mean kids can go to the park and experience the fun, the laughter, the enjoyment and physical activity that they deserve. They will not have to make those accommodations themselves within their families, because there will be a park built for them. That is really fantastic.
The fourth pillar, last but certainly not least, is a modernized government. A modernized government in the context of a disability inclusion action plan is all about easier access to benefits. This would ensure that we are not creating an environment where applying for these programs or new resources is going to cost a lot of money or where business owners have to hire somebody new or special in order to do that. A good example of that is automatic tax filing, which was in budget 2023.
Once again, I want to thank and commend my hon. colleague from Edmonton—Wetaskiwin for this extraordinary work. I am glad that we are finding, at the end of today, a great way to work together and collaborate across party lines.
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- May/10/23 6:21:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague for bringing awareness to this issue. I also want to say that our government understands the situation very well. It recognizes that this is a very important challenge. I want to commend and thank everyone who has the strength to share their stories.
On the subject of an inquiry, I want to repeat for my friend that it is not a question of “if”. It is a question of what form and scope it will take. I want the member to know that.
Reports of maltreatment, including harassment, abuse and discrimination have come to light recently and there have been consistent calls for stronger governance and greater protections for athletes, accountability and better alignment within the sports system.
I am familiar with these calls. I have been making them myself for over 10 years. I was the vice-chair or chair of the Athletes’ Commission for a total of almost a decade. We have been fighting for a stronger and more accountable support system. The first letter that I wrote to Sport Canada was in 1999.
We take this issue very seriously, and we are committed to ensuring that all sport participants, including children and youth, experience a safe and inclusive sport environment.
While changes in the sport system involve many stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments, national sport organizations, national multi-sport service organizations, Canadian sport centres and the private sector, the Government of Canada has made significant and concerted efforts to promote safe sport, particularly in recent years.
We have worked to ensure safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for all athletes through investments in the 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 budgets.
The Government of Canada supported the achievement of a number of safe sport milestones in recent years. We can be proud of this collectively. For instance, the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport was developed by and for the sport community, with the support of Sport Canada in the last five years.
In July 2021, Sport Canada launched a call for proposals to find the most appropriate and most qualified organization to administer the code of conduct and establish an independent safe sport mechanism. A committee of sport community stakeholders and experts in ethics, youth protection and policy development selected the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada to do this work.
In June 2022, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada set up the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. As of April 1, 2023, every national sport organization has signed an agreement to access the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.
Though the Government of Canada has demonstrated leadership in this area, it is important to note that ensuring a safe and inclusive sport environment is a shared responsibility with provinces and territories as well, particularly when it comes to younger participants. In February 2019, federal and provincial territorial ministers responsible for sport, physical activity and recreation endorsed the Red Deer Declaration for the Prevention of Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination in Sport, and ministers at that time committed to developing a collaborative approach to address harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport—
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- May/10/23 6:26:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are speaking very fast. I am going to try to get my ideas out in English because they take longer in French, although I am working on it.
This has been a work in progress for many, many years. I used to come to the Hill to advocate for a better sporting environment back in 2015 or 2016. The first time that I came here to do government relations on behalf of athletes was in 2009. I hear the calls to stronger action. The member did acknowledge concrete action over the last couple of years. It has been accelerating to a degree in the last couple of years, particularly under the leadership of the Minister of Sport.
We have come so far and there is no reason why the House needs to be divided on this issue. We are talking about safer sport environments for kids and better sport environments for all participants, and I think that is something that we can collectively continue to work on. The Minister of Sport has prioritized this issue as number one since she was appointed. We have made significant investments since then, and we will continue.
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