SoVote

Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)

May/1/24 2:10:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, MS Canada continues to push forward in the fight against multiple sclerosis. With a mission to connect and empower the MS community to create positive change for those affected by it, it has its sights set firmly on a world free of MS. I had the joy of having my wife, Kyla, and mother-in-law, Donna, join me in Ottawa this week for the kickoff of MS Awareness Month. We all know someone who lives with the disease. My wife has connected with people who have MS, including staffers, MPs' spouses and even her hairdresser, so they can share their experiences and talk about treatments. I have seen first-hand the impacts of MS, and the resilience of my wife in her fight with this disease. Some days are better than others with MS, but her fight against it inspires me every single day. In honour of MS Awareness Month, I am wearing a carnation to show my solidarity with the MS community. Let us work for a better country for those with MS and support those who need it.

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Context: House Hansard - 306 - May/1/24

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

May/1/24 2:27:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us take a moment to reflect on what happened yesterday. You had to censure the Leader of the Opposition for refusing to withdraw the unparliamentary language he used while making political attacks about a crisis, a human tragedy, that is happening in British Columbia. The fact is that we will always take this tragedy seriously. That is why we are taking a compassionate and evidence-based approach. We will be there to support British Columbia as it adjusts its pilot project.

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Context: House Hansard - 306 - May/1/24

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

May/1/24 3:11:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of every government is to protect the well-being of all Canadians, including Canadians who are members of minority groups and groups that are mistreated or typically ignored by the majority. We are here to invest and to protect these people. When someone who aspires to be a future prime minister of Canada continues to associate with extremist groups, white nationalist groups, he should at least either explain to Canadians why he is courting these people's support, or else condemn them. The Leader of the Opposition is doing neither.

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Context: House Hansard - 306 - May/1/24

Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

May/1/24 5:20:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member is asking whether I would have wanted it to have been fully funded to what the Canadian disability sector had asked for, I would say a resounding yes. However, I was proud that this is one of the largest line items in our entire budget. We have absolutely made this a priority. I will also say that it is not the only thing that will be helpful to Canadians with disabilities. We have automatic tax filings. We have a national dental care plan that will benefit them. We have phase one of a national pharmacare plan that will support them. We have made historic investments in our health care program, both last year and this year. I think all of that, collectively, is going to support not only Canadians with disabilities but also all Canadians moving forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 306 - May/1/24

Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

May/1/24 6:59:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to take to my feet today and talk about something that is pretty close to my heart. I have constituents who have lobbied for a national framework on a brain injury strategy. I would like to thank Barb Butler from Wilcox, Tammie Gall in Regina—Lewvan and, from when I was growing up, my babysitter in Rush Lake, Saskatchewan. They came to my office during the January break, when we were in our ridings, and talked about how important this strategy was to them. They talked about their experiences and what happened with their accidents and how their lives were changed forever. I am grateful that they came to me. With that being said, I am very happy that we will be supporting this bill going forward. I am happy to support the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. We work on the agriculture committee, and I am happy he brought this bill forward. He has outlined a lot of the numbers when it comes to how 1.5 million Canadians are affected by brain injuries. It is not just the people who suffer the injuries. It is their families, their friends and everything that goes with these very traumatic injuries that happen and these accidents. It goes beyond that. Both speakers before me said that addictions happen with this. The member who brought the bill forward talked about the difficulties and the high price that professional athletes pay, as well as the 5,500 women who are suffering injuries to the brain from domestic violence. Why I think this is so important is that two of my friends had very traumatic experiences. I grew up with Derek Boogaard. He was an NHL hockey player, and his dad was an RCMP member in Herbert, Saskatchewan. Derek and I played minor hockey together. I always thought I wanted to be in Derek's shoes. He made it. He played junior and then played in the NHL. He played with the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild. Derek was a monster of a man. He was six-foot-seven and 260 pounds, I think, on his lightest day. He was the team's enforcer. When people get concussions and brain injuries, they walk around and nobody sees it. They wonder why the people are not playing and what is going on, because they cannot see the concussion. It is inside. That wears on people a lot also. It is very mentally draining, because everyone thinks, “Why aren't you on the ice?” What happened with Derek was that he was injured and then he got addicted to pills. I always really wanted to be Derek. I thought I might have really been able to take him back when we were young kids. It really dawned on me when I was a staff member in the Saskatchewan legislature. I actually wrote the statement when Derek died, that the member delivered in Saskatchewan. That just struck home, thinking of his father, mother and brothers. Aaron is still in White City. It is amazing how someone so big, larger than life, can get tackled and taken down by something that no one can ever see. No one knew how much pain he was going through; that is what happens to some of these people. I am just so happy that we are able to come together as the whole House of Commons and realize that this is a silent killer, really, as it has been described to me before. Another good friend I played hockey with is Rick Rypien. He was the captain of the Regina Pats and played for the Vancouver Canucks. He had similar experiences. Pound for pound, he was probably one of the toughest kids I had ever seen in my life. He had some injury problems and addictions took over for him as well. We see these larger-than-life people whom this is happening to. I know it is not all about the professional athletes, as the member talked about. However, these people are going through so many difficult situations. When we can make this strategy a national concern and bring it to the forefront and bring more attention when there are injuries to people in our country, it means a lot, not only to the people who are suffering but also to their families. I have talked to lots of families that have had these experiences, and it is something we do not talk about enough. The member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford is right. We talk about cancer, and I am wearing my MS carnation today. Those are all very important. To finally have something such as this brought forward on the floor of the House of Commons is a good step forward, in the right direction. Having Brain Injury Canada on board, and after looking at the statistics Tammy and Barbara forwarded to me, it is overwhelming to see how many people suffer with brain trauma due to car crashes, accidents and lots of times, as the member said, domestic violence. There is something that can be done to help these people if we come together. My question earlier was about the provincial aspect of this. I know the bill proposes that the minister must consult with provincial health ministers, and that is so important to have in this piece of legislation. I believe health ministers across the provinces will more than engage. I talked to the Saskatchewan health minister previously, and I look forward to having a conversation with the new minister, just to make sure they also have the tools they need and to make sure they come together on this. I hope that a federal-provincial-territorial meeting can be put on the agenda for health ministers. I hope the Liberals will bring that up in their next conversation to make sure they are talking about this. I love the idea that the minister has to report back to the House of Commons so there would be some accountability when this private member's bill is passed. Accountability is extremely important. It is nice when we can work together in the House as a unit. This is something that should bring people together. We should be able to have fruitful discussions with health experts and take it to the health committee. I know there are doctors on the health committee. The Conservative shadow minister on health is very keen to help move this forward as well. I listened to the speech by the member for Yukon, and I appreciate his expertise when it comes to the medical field. I want to bring a personal perspective to what this means to the people in my riding, myself included, when we have the opportunity to stand up and show our constituents that we can work together to move something like this forward. They are very passionate about this. The member who presented the bill said there was passionate advocacy across the country. So many groups came together to make sure this bill gets passed. I am happy that we can work together to make sure we get this done. Hopefully, we can get a strategy in place that helps people such as Derek and Rick, so when people sustain those injuries, they can get the help they need and do not turn to self-medicating. That is something that people do way too much when it comes to injuries like these. The medication is what starts them down the road to a place where they sometimes cannot get back from.

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