SoVote

Randall Garrison

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
NDP

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke
British Columbia
Voting Attendance: 66%
Expenses Last Quarter: $148,586.11

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

Mar/21/24 3:10:38 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, there is panic among community-based health prevention groups that are working to limit the spread of HIV in Canada. On March 31, the Liberals let funding for HIV self-testing kits run out. Self-testing kits have quickly become a vital tool in limiting new infections and moving towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS. We know community-based distribution of test kits works. Frontline workers were hoping to see the funding double, rather than end. Will the minister commit today to providing the funding needed to help eliminate HIV?

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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

Dec/7/23 3:12:44 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate crimes in Canada are up 80%. What my community needs right now is action to help keep people safe, especially the most marginalized. Thousands of Canadians have already called on the government to implement the recommendations in the “White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People”, but trans and gender-diverse organizations need resources now. Will the Minister for Women and Gender Equality commit to stable funding for trans and gender diverse-led organizations to make sure they can push back against hate and violence?

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Context: House Hansard - 259 - Nov/30/23

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

Nov/30/23 4:17:57 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I too am pleased to see this bill back before the House fairly quickly, with Senate amendments, which I think help improve the bill. We can make the legislative changes around bail, but there is a concern about public disorder and low-level offenders. We know that one of the reasons people who might be on bail for low-level offences reoffend is that they lack access to mental health programs, adequate income and a lot of the things that would help them overcome the problems that lead them into conflict with their neighbours, friends, family and the legal system. Will there also be a commitment from the government to provide the funding we need to help support people being a success when they are on bail?

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Context: House Hansard - 219 - Sep/18/23

Mr. Randall Garrison

Sep/18/23 1:46:34 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-48

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Nunavut, for her tireless advocacy on behalf of indigenous people and northern residents in Canada. I want to point out that one of the areas where there is a severe lack of social services when it comes to things like addiction treatment and mental health services is Nunavut. By providing for community-based bail supervision, this bill would allow a lot of people who are maybe, for the first time, in conflict with the justice system, to find a way to keep their housing, their contacts with family and their employment, and not end up in further conflict with the law. That means that the federal government would have to step up and help provide the funding to the Government of Nunavut to make those necessary social services available in communities across the north.

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All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 214 - Jun/15/23

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

Jun/15/23 11:42:57 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I think the previous speaker raised a very important point, which is our dependence on volunteer organizations that deal with victims and the struggles they have to raise the necessary money not just to provide the services, which are sometimes done on a contract basis, but to keep the lights on and the doors open at those organizations. There is very little support for that core funding that is very necessary for those organizations. I would like to hear a bit more from the hon. member on his views on core funding for victim support organizations.

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Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

May/15/23 2:14:55 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as a gay man of a certain age, the fight against HIV/AIDS will always have a higher profile for me, even though this disease now equally affects intravenous drug users and indigenous people alongside gay men. The government adopted the UNAIDS strategy for eliminating HIV in 2016. We know what to do. Other countries are making rapid progress. In Australia, from 2020 to 2022, new cases dropped by 39% and it expects to successfully eradicate HIV by 2030. Instead, in Canada, new cases of HIV increased by 26%, the sixth year in a row of mounting new cases. The government made promises to do the right thing, but it has failed to make investments in community-based testing and treatment, investments costing less than $100 million annually, but investments that are crucial to make this goal a reality. Budget 2023 fails to make any new investments in the elimination of HIV and continues the stagnation of funding that began in 2008. What in the world is the government waiting for? The time to act is now. We can eradicate HIV and AIDS in Canada if we act.

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Member of Parliament

Randall Garrison