SoVote

May/9/24 11:52:12 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his continued advocacy and really collaborative work with us on this side of the House to address this moment that we are in and the toxic drug supply and the overdose crisis we are in. We have made significant investments since 2016, a billion dollars toward this crisis. We have committed, in this budget alone, to have additional supports like the $150-million emergency treatment fund. We have signed bilateral agreements with every province and territory, with the key component being mental health and substance use, because health care is the way out of this. That is where provinces and jurisdictions come in to scale their health care systems.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)

May/9/24 1:02:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his never-ending advocacy and support, and bringing forward the voices of experts in field and families. Prior to becoming a member of Parliament, I worked in mental health and addictions, working directly with youth, families and those who supported them to provide wraparound supports. It was not good enough to offer a youth-only treatment, or only housing or only mental health support. It was essential that they were provided with the wraparound, person-centred supports people require to work through what was going on with them. The other piece was culture, tradition and connections to families. We need to be looking at wraparound, person-centred supports. Could the member please share with us the importance of having a multi-tiered approach in supporting people who are struggling with substance misuse and how that is the path forward in preventing more deaths?

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Sean Fraser

May/9/24 6:39:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her advocacy. There are a number of members in the chamber who were pushing for that same change, and I congratulate them on the effectiveness of their advocacy. Here we are advancing that change through federal legislation that is being debated at this very moment. The removal of the GST for psychotherapy is essential. Mental health services are not as widely accessible as they ought to be in a country that is as advanced as Canada and that is as wealthy as Canada. Mental health care is health care. No one should be denied access to mental health supports or community services, which should be more widely available, because they cannot afford access to those services. This is going to enhance the quality and access of care that people are able to receive, including in communities that are traditionally underserved. It is important that we do everything we can to ensure people are able to receive the care they need, when they need it. The cost should never be prohibitive for someone who is seeking the care they desperately deserve.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Sean Fraser

May/9/24 6:46:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right to point out the members for Vancouver East and Nunavut for their advocacy, alongside a number of members from different parties in the House. She is also correct to point out the disproportionate impact of homelessness on indigenous peoples across Canada, both the housing needs in indigenous communities and those of indigenous people who have had that connection severed. It is extremely important to address. In addition to indigenous communities and indigenous-led projects being eligible in our programs of general application, we have specific programs that we have developed, with billions of dollars behind them, to advance solutions. There is a $4-billion distinctions-based fund to provide housing solutions directly in community for rights holders through a distinctions-based program. In addition, there is a $4.3-billion fund, and I believe this is what she was referring to, to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern environments. We are working to finalize some of the program design to ensure we are supporting both distinctions-based organizations and non-profit housing providers to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in urban, rural and northern environments. We expect, in the very short term, to be advancing opportunities to set up the organization nationally that will help run some of these programs as we continue to fund distinctions-based organizations that are supporting members of their community who may no longer be in community.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. Ryan Turnbull

May/9/24 7:53:22 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-59

Madam Speaker, I have the utmost respect for the member opposite, having worked with her on several committees, heard her testimony, and seen her great advocacy for her community. I know the particular bill we are debating tonight, Bill C-59, has a measure to waive GST on new co-operative rental housing construction. That is obviously one measure of many in a package of measures that are included in this year's budget, which would make a difference. I note that the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities had a great intervention earlier with the member opposite. He detailed specific investments that are quite sizable in northern, rural and remote indigenous communities. I know my work on the HUMA committee years ago was part of those studies, and I am glad to see that our government is following through with significant investments.

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