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Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Gord Johns

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • NDP
  • Courtenay—Alberni
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $148,159.67

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
  • Mar/19/24 1:10:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think we need to talk about going well beyond subsidies. We know that in Great Britain they had an excess profit tax on oil and gas; that is the Conservatives in Britain. We cannot even get Liberals to do that. Right now, the Liberals have ended the Canada greener homes loan program. I have constituents who want to access that program. I have contractors saying they are going to have to lay people because they were employing people and were supporting Canadians who wanted to do the right thing. My questions to my colleague are these: Will they charge an excess profit tax on oil and gas? Will they not just fund the greener homes loan program but also actually provide it with the necessary resources to make it through a full budget cycle so that all Canadians can access it?
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Context: House Hansard - 281 - Feb/13/24
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today on the unceded lands of Tseshaht and Hupacasath on Vancouver Island in Nuu-chah-nulth territory to speak to Bill C-62, which is calling for the extension of the temporary exclusion of eligibility for medical assistance in dying for persons suffering solely from a mental illness by three years, until March 17, 2027. Clearly, without an intervention by Parliament, this expansion would come into effect on March 17, 2024, in just one month. New Democrats agree with the majority decision made by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, also known as the AMAD committee, which I will refer to it as in my speech. It reported that Canada is not adequately prepared to deliver medical assistance in dying to individuals whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder. The bill would allow more time to implement the necessary safeguards and address the capacity concerns that are expected to be the result of the expansion of medical assistance in dying for those with the sole underlying medical condition of a mental disorder. It would give medical practitioners more time to become familiar with available training and supports, while providing time for the public to become more aware of the robust safeguards and processes in place. I know this is a very sensitive and very personal matter to so many people around this country. Especially in my riding of Courtenay—Alberni, I have heard from many people about this. We also need to ensure that we have the understanding and compassion to respect the right of an individual's choice of dignity when they have deep, prolonged and ongoing suffering. I will speak to that. Suffering from mental illness is extremely serious, and it is just as real as suffering from a physical illness. In our health care system, we clearly do not have parity when it comes to mental and physical health, and I will speak to that as well. We must also affirm and protect the most vulnerable when we do any sort of decision-making on such a serious piece of legislation as expanding medical assistance in dying. This additional delay is necessary and needed right now to ensure that we have a health care system in place that can safely provide medical assistance in dying for those whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder. We know how we got here. The Liberal government made an ill-advised decision and did a complete 180° by accepting the Senate's amendment to Bill C-7 in the 43rd Parliament. That is what got us here. The government changed the law before any kind of comprehensive review had been conducted, and we have been trying to play catch-up ever since. I am going to speak about the important work that needs to be done, and I want us to be thoughtful in our approach to expanding medical assistance in dying. As New Democrats, we take people's concerns and feedback very seriously. We are committed to helping find the best possible solution for Canadians in the policy of medical assistance in dying to ensure that it does what it was always intended to do. One of the biggest concerns New Democrats have with the expansion of medical assistance in dying is with the barriers that many Canadians face when they reach out for mental health treatment. Because of the Liberals, and the Conservatives before them, the chronic underfunding of our health care system has become even more apparent. It is now more than ever, as we see the disparity between mental and physical health and how people are taken care of. We heard the Prime Minister promise to implement a new mental health transfer of $4.5 billion over five years, but he has still not done that. Even with the bilateral agreements, the Liberals are falling far short, and that would not even be enough. Everyone should be able to access mental health supports when they need it, but under the Liberal government, and that of the Conservatives before it, this has not been the reality. It is the same with all provinces and territories. New Democrats wholeheartedly support the delay in expanding medical assistance in dying for those who have a mental disorder as the sole underlying condition, but the Liberal government needs to ensure that proper consultation happens between now and the expansion date, or it would need to be extended again. It needs to ensure that people will be protected while respecting their individual choice. The Liberals cannot just delay the expansion either. They need to fund adequate supports and treatment options for people dealing with mental illness. Members have heard me say this repeatedly, but we need a pathway, a road map, to how we are going to achieve parity for mental and physical health and ensure people get the timely help they need when they need it. Seven of the provinces and all three territories have said that they are not ready and have signed a joint letter to that effect, including my home province of British Columbia. That was signed by the ministers of health in those provinces and territories. They are calling for an indefinite pause on the expansion for individuals whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder. That is what those ministers identified. As New Democrats, we want to see a MAID regime where guardrails are in place to protect vulnerable populations while still allowing for personal bodily autonomy and end-of-life choices. We must make sure that people do not request medical assistance in dying because they do not have access to treatments, supports and services. This has to be absolute. The Liberals need to make sure everybody can access mental health supports. However, after nine years of carrying forward with the Conservative cuts to health care, this is where we are at right now right across the country. Help is out of reach for many people. This needs to change before medical assistance in dying can be expanded. We know that the housing, toxic drug and mental health crises that are happening are not being addressed. I see that I do not have a lot of time left, but I want to ensure I outline that the AMAD committee heard from plenty of witnesses who cautioned the committee on expanding MAID in cases of persons suffering solely from a mental illness. I want to share what a couple of those experts had to say. Professor Brian Mishara, who is with the Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide, Ethical Issues and End-of-Life Practices at Université du Québec à Montréal, said, “The expert panel report on MAID and mental illness states that there are no specific criteria for knowing that a mental illness is irremediable”, and that there is absolutely no “evidence that anyone can reliably determine if an individual suffering from a mental illness will not improve.” He warned us that “any attempt at identifying who should have access to MAID will make large numbers of mistakes, and people who would have experienced improvements in their symptoms and no longer wish to die will die by [medical assistance in dying].” We heard from many experts. The CAMH raised similar concerns. Because I see that I only have a couple of minutes left here, I want to talk a bit about the system and the lack of access. We are talking about a crisis going on from coast to coast to coast, according to a poll done just a year ago. The Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction released a report talking about postpandemic findings. It cited that 35% of respondents reported moderate to severe mental health concerns. This is alarming. It should also be alarming to all parliamentarians that it found that fewer than one in three people with current mental health concerns accessed services. The report identified key barriers to accessing services as financial constraints and help not being readily available. We know that right now we are in a financial crisis, and I am sure those numbers have only gone up. It identified that one of the top stressors was between income and unemployment with mental health concerns. We need to create a system of parity with mental and physical health. The government has not delivered when it comes to a plan, a road map, on how we achieve parity with physical and mental health. I hope in this budget, it is going to release funding on top of the bilateral agreements directly to community-based organizations as a COVID emergency recovery response because, post-COVID, we know some people are struggling financially, but the biggest concern right now and the biggest epidemic post-COVID is in mental health. I hope the government is hearing that. I see that I have run out of time. I have a lot to say on this matter. I look forward to taking questions from my colleagues.
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