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Member of the Subcommittee on Review of Parliament’s involvement with associations and recognized Interparliamentary groups Deputy whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council

Marilène Gill

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of the Subcommittee on Review of Parliament’s involvement with associations and recognized Interparliamentary groups Deputy whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Manicouagan
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 65%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $175,049.14

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23
Mrs. Marilène Gill
  • Jun/16/23 1:47:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was saying that I wanted to take a moment, before I began my speech, to thank all the health care workers and first responders who supported the people in my riding and, of course, across Quebec and Canada during COVID-19. They certainly experienced this crisis more intensely than many of us. In a crisis, people are justifiably afraid. Unfortunately, fear can make people behave differently than usual, no matter how stressed they are. Some went through very difficult times and were victims of aggression, or even violence. The same is true of the wildfires that swept through my riding not too long ago. They are still going on, in fact. We always think the situation is under control, but no. However, the staff at the Côte-Nord integrated health and social services centre managed to maintain health and social services. For instance, they had to get people out of their homes very quickly and evacuate them. In short, these people are there every day, even if we do not see them. These people working behind the scenes deserve our utmost respect and obviously deserve to be able to work without endangering their physical and mental integrity. Having said that, it will come as no surprise that the Bloc Québécois supports this bill, which responds to a recommendation in a 2019 committee report that called on the government to amend the Criminal Code to require a court “to consider the fact that the victim of an assault is a health care sector worker to be an aggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing”. This measure had been called for by a number of groups representing health care workers. Whether it was the Canadian Medical Association, the Ontario Medical Association or the Canadian Nurses Association, they all supported such a measure. However, nothing was done to implement that recommendation because of the 2019 election. Bill C‑321, introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George, does just that. The Bloc Québécois is in favour of this bill even though, in a way, it is already covered to some extent by section 718.2 of the Criminal Code, which states that committing a serious crime against a health worker constitutes an aggravating factor. That is already understood. I hope that the intent is to reinforce this principle. However, this has already been taken into consideration. Despite this point that I wanted to emphasize, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of Bill C‑321. We want to point out that, although we agree, the fact that the Criminal Code makes it an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing is not a magic bullet. In fact, we must look after our health care workers on a day-to-day basis and we must also take preventive measures. That is also important. It is not one or the other, but both at the same time. Of course, we believe that funding the health care system properly can help lower the risk of the kinds of aggressive or violent behaviour that we are discussing here. We saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic and in every circumstance. People need services, yet services are dwindling year by year. When I say “services”, I am including the work of nurses and all health care personnel. These people have their own concerns. They may have physical difficulties, plus mental or psychological health issues as well. It is important to look at the whole picture. The issue of the drastically shrinking health transfers cannot be ignored. We need a health care system that can meet the needs of the people. There is nothing magical about that, either. I am not saying that no one is being aggressive or violent towards health care workers and first responders. I think this is everybody's responsibility, in all cases. The bill introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George seeks precisely to protect health care workers so that they can do their work, what they were hired to do, what they want to do and what they are called to do. My mom was a nurse for 40 years, and I can say that it is definitely a calling. That is the basis of the measure. They need free rein. Health transfers are one measure. The Bloc Québécois says it often here in the House, and I am going to remind the House again. It is not just because we believe it. It is not a belief. It is really an established fact. It is an option available to the federal government in light of the fiscal imbalance. We are dealing with an area of Quebec jurisdiction. The federal government's coffers are overflowing, but year after year, the money given back to Quebec and the provinces for health care has diminished. It is a feasible option. When I talk about responsibility, from where I stand, the federal government also has a responsibility to contribute to health transfers. I thank my colleague. This has been a recommendation for the government since 2019. The member seized the opportunity and decided to lead the charge for health care workers. I thank him for taking the initiative. I also encourage everyone in the House and the government to reflect yet again on the issue of health transfers. It is not just through sentencing people who break the law that our health care workers will be protected. It is by giving our health care systems the means that we will be able to protect workers and the public who deserve to have good health care. To be able to live a healthy life, both physically and mentally, we need to have good health care. I really want to expand on that. I will close by reiterating our responsibility. We need to go further than individual measures. We need to take a holistic approach to protect our health care workers and our first responders.
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