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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 - 281 - Feb/13/24

Feb/13/24 11:37:11 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, we want to ensure that we have a system of care in place to ensure that E.F. can actually get access to supports if she is suffering. However, that is not in place anywhere in the country, not in all 10 provinces and three territories. We know that. We are falling far below our OECD partners. Provinces and territories spend between 5% and 7% of their health care budgets on mental health compared to France and Britain that are at 12% and 14% respectively. As New Democrats, we want to see a medical assistance in dying response where guardrails are in place to protect the most vulnerable. We want to ensure that safe and adequate delivery of medical assistance in dying is in place, but that there still is bodily autonomy and end-of-life choice. We need to have a system in place that the experts support, one that actually responds to medical assistance in dying, that ensures we have the training and that we have addressed all the recommendations of AMAD committee. We have not done that. I know the government is working toward that, but we are very far away from it.

201 words

Context: House Hansard - 159 - Feb/13/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/13/23 8:50:29 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-39

Mr. Speaker, we know that the government has not delivered a single dollar after its promise of mental health transfers. The member talked about the importance of support. We agree with her given what I heard in her speech. The government still has not tabled legislation to create parity between mental and physical health, which is absolutely critical. We have heard from the disability community, especially people who are suffering with mental health issues as their underlying illness, and they are all saying they need better supports, such as access to treatment. They are also saying that it is tough to pay their bills, buy groceries and pay for rent. We put forward a proposal for a guaranteed livable income for those living with disabilities and for seniors. We know tax breaks are not going to help people in that category because they do not have the income. I am hoping my colleague can talk about some of the solutions to help support those who are struggling so they are not considering medically assisted dying for an underlying mental illness. We can talk about solutions. I know the Liberals want to deflect because they do not want to talk about their track record. That is what they just did in the question to my colleague. I am hoping we can hear more proposals to help support people.

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Context: House Hansard - 159 - Feb/13/23

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/13/23 8:35:50 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-39

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about supports for people with mental health issues. One group we have not talked about is public safety personnel. This is definitely not partisan; it is about us both coming from rural communities. That includes border services, corrections services, firefighters, operational intelligence personnel, paramedics, police, public safety communications and search and rescue personnel. Half those individuals experience some sort of mental disorder in their career in their lifetime and one in 10 will actually consider death by suicide. These professionals and their families have remained decades behind. We know about the military and veterans with regard to supports for their well-being, and we are just scratching the surface in addressing their considerable mental health needs. Their core funding comes from the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment and concludes on March 31, just six weeks from now. Without a renewed commitment on that funding, it will end. Maybe my colleague can speak about some of those public safety personnel in his riding who have suffered through PTSD or some trauma and how important it is we get the proper resources to support them, especially those heroes who have put their lives on the line and the sacrifices they made, as we know coming from rural Canada.

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Member of Parliament

Gord Johns