- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Kelowna—Lake Country
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $131,412.70
- Government Page
- May/31/23 2:07:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to pay tribute to a pillar of Kelowna—Lake Country, Al Horning. It was not too long ago that I did the same for his powerhouse wife, Donna Horning.
Al was known for getting things done and was a fierce advocate of our community, in particular, Rutland, while he served on all three levels of government. He served several terms on Kelowna City Council, as an MLA and as a Progressive Conservative MP from 1988 to 1993.
Al was a mentor and friend. I met him one time at one of his coffee spots, the McDonald's on Highway 33, where he said, “Why don’t you come to Rutland?” I said, “Al, what are you talking about? I’ve been to Rutland many times this past week alone” and let him know the activities, and that there were pictures on my social media. He said, “I don’t look at that” in Al’s matter-of-fact, to-the-point way.
He contributed so many ways locally within agriculture, the Black Mountain Irrigation District, and sports and recreation organizations. Al was inducted into the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame. The City of Kelowna recently presented Al with the naming of a future roadway, “Al Horning Way”.
My heart goes out to the Horning family. Al will always be remembered for setting the bar for community service.
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- Sep/16/22 11:18:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in each of our lives we have those moments when we remember where we were when we first heard about significant events. Last Thursday, I was at the Kelowna International Airport, having just gone through security, when I noticed a missed call from a member of my team and then a text message to tell me the news. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, our Queen and head of state since 1952, had sadly passed away. As I walked through the airport, I could hear the whispers as others learned the breaking news.
It was only the day before, on September 7, in Kelowna that I hosted a Queen's jubilee pin and local recognition-of-service medallion ceremony. The Canadian Platinum Jubilee emblem was created to mark the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, a historic milestone in the enduring relationship between Canada and the Crown. At the end of the ceremony, we finished by standing and singing O Canada and God Save the Queen. Little did we know then that it would likely be the last time God Save the Queen would be played in our community.
For most in Kelowna—Lake Country, we have never known a Canada without the Queen. The first official rendition of God Save the King after the Queen's passing was sung at the end of a memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on September 9. We are currently in a national period of mourning, which lasts for 10 days. I will be attending the national commemorative ceremony in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the citizens of Kelowna—Lake Country.
Through seven decades and 12 prime ministers, she represented an island in the stream of our ever-changing culture and history in Canada. The Queen represented the eternal values of dutiful service, quiet strength and genuine kindness. The Queen often talked about the importance to her of faith, family and friendship.
I recently spoke with Bob Hayes, former president of the Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Historical Society, who remembers when the Queen came to Kelowna on May 6, 1971. He recalled how in Kelowna's City Park there were very large wooden stands, which were a regular fixture there at the time, and more were added for the event. Viewers could tell when the Queen was arriving as they could see her cavalcade coming across the Okanagan Lake bridge into Kelowna. The Queen made a brief speech to the large crowd and then took time to walk around speaking to people. In 1983, the Queen landed at the Kelowna International Airport while on another British Columbia visit.
It was 45 years after the Queen's visit to downtown Kelowna that we received a visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, now the Prince and Princess of Wales. I was out of town at the time, but my husband and son got to see them, as did many others in the area as they toured around.
Let us keep Queen Elizabeth II and what she stood for in our memories. God save the King.
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- Mar/29/22 2:01:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Kelowna—Lake Country lost a wonderful spirit, Onofrio Curatolo, or, as most called him, Ono.
Ono studied in the seminary for 11 years until his family received their visas to start a new life in Canada. In May 1960, they embarked on a voyage from Italy and settled in Winnipeg. Soon after completing English lessons, he founded Universal Travel Agency, which he owned until 1979, later relocating his family and parents to Kelowna. Ono was a entrepreneur at heart, owning numerous stores and businesses and, most recently, Ace Screens & Tint. Having a strong work ethic and wanting to stay involved, Ono, at 83, never fully retired, as he loved meeting new people.
Ono was proud to be Canadian, yet preserved his Italian heritage. He was an active member of the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club and the Galileo Lodge of the The Sons and Daughters of Italy. Ono was always generous and volunteered throughout the community. People would always see his warm smile and hear his big personality. He always greeted my family and me with open arms and was gracious in teaching me a few sentences in Italian that I could use at community events.
My heart goes out to his entire family. May he rest in peace.
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- Feb/8/22 8:29:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is an honour to be here late in the evening at this take-note debate to talk about the opioid crisis in Canada.
Sadly, overdose deaths outpaced COVID-19 deaths in British Columbia last year. Constituents from across Kelowna—Lake Country continually reach out to me about the mental health and addictions issues playing out on our streets. However, the opioid crisis also affects everyday families, and of course the biggest tragedy is the people who are struggling with addiction and the people who are trying to help them.
I have met with residents of Rutland, in downtown Kelowna, and other areas who see first hand the tragic impact that opioids and drug addictions have in their neighbourhoods. I have met with mothers who have lost a child to overdose. Their stories are heartbreaking, and I cannot imagine what they have gone through.
The government's continued response has been to push off the responsibility, and it has been left to our provinces and municipalities to deal with. There needs to be federal leadership on the opioid crisis, here in Ottawa. I am not new to this issue. I spoke about Kelowna—Lake Country's addictions crisis during my maiden speech in the previous Parliament. I called on the government to introduce actionable items that would deal with bringing those addicted into recovery while ensuring criminal accountability for keeping illegal drugs on our streets. Since then, I have told the government of families watching loved ones slip away, of the desperate need to fund recovery and treatment centres and of the struggling surges in rates of overdoses in my community and my province. We keep hearing from the government what we have always heard: hearts going out, action plans coming, awareness and moving forward. However, there have not been any specific actionable plans.
Kelowna—Lake Country and British Columbia are left with yet another year of tragic statistics. The year 2021 surpassed 2020 as the deadliest year for illicit drug deaths, and now, six British Columbians a day are lost, according to B.C.'s chief coroner. Kelowna has gone from counting drug deaths in single digits just 10 years ago to now having many dozen a year in my community alone.
I hosted a mental health round table in my community last year, and conversations were geared toward talking about addiction. There were many stakeholders there from my community and they gave really good input, which helped lead into our platform in the previous election.
I have talked to first responders, and they are exhausted by the continual calls of overdoses and seeing the tragedy every day. Let us recognize and thank them here today. They are on the front lines of the opioid crisis every day. B.C. Emergency Health Services responded to over 35,000 overdoses in 2021, an increase of 31% compared with the previous year and nearly triple the number it responded to when the government was elected in 2015. New substances with even more significant toxicity continue to appear in Kelowna, with a public health warning issued of a new substance just this past January.
There are a number of organizations, including those in Kelowna—Lake Country, that provide treatment in supportive living environments for those struggling to recover from addiction. They are trying to bring hope and healing to people so they can become productive members of society. However, many of these organizations do not meet government models to receive funding and have to self-fund in the community and rely on generous volunteers and donors. We need to use all the tools available, such as drug-treatment beds, community recovery centres and wraparound services.
The opioid crisis is a national emergency and an urgent health issue, and COVID-19 has made things worse. People have been isolated, out of work and unable to see friends and family. My community has been very clear about what is needed to help them. The federal government has received clear recommendations from British Columbia's municipalities, including Kelowna, while leaving them without much-needed treatment. We must act for the people who need recovery and treatment and act for the families and communities where we live. We must all work together in the House to help people and families, and we must act now.
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