- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- North Island—Powell River
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $145,542.18
- Government Page
Madam Speaker, the member spoke about specific aspects of the budget that tie back into helping rural and remote communities attract doctors and nurses by extending an offer to lessen debt for nurses. I appreciate that.
I come from a riding with communities like Port Hardy, which, an article just came out saying, is again going to have to shut down the emergency room during the day. Right now, the emergency room is open only during the day, not during the evening or the night. People have to leave their community and drive far away to get emergency services. It is the same on Cormorant Island.
Does the member think it would be important for the government to step up and make sure there are ties to small, rural communities struggling in this country in terms of health care, to get them a bit extra to get through this time? I know that, in B.C., the provincial government has stepped up, but it needs more resources to address this huge crisis.
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- Feb/16/23 4:57:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very proud to be here to talk about this bill. I appreciate that it is a difficult subject.
As a New Democrat, I am incredibly proud of the fact that in 2004, Canadians overwhelmingly voted for Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian because he was the father of medicare. When we think about medicare, it is right in our blood. We believe in it foundationally, and it is something we all want to see continue to grow and progress in this country. However, we know the reality is that it is in crisis. I know this very well. I know this because of the realities in my riding.
In my riding, there are currently two hospitals that have no emergency room at night. They shut down. One of those communities is on Corman Island. It is an island, so if something happens to someone at a time when the hospital is closed, they have to find a way off of the island to get help.
I think of Port Hardy, which was very much in the news. One time, someone who was going to the emergency room at the hospital with a very serious issue arrived to find it closed. He collapsed and an ambulance had to drive him over 30 minutes to the nearest hospital. He was lucky because he was not on an island. He was lucky because when he got there, the hospital was not closed that day.
The reality is that during a period of time, we had sudden emergency room closures. Often there were Facebook posts just to let people in the community know their hospital was not open for emergencies that evening. This is devastating. It is devastating to communities. I have had so many constituents contact me to let me know how afraid they are. The hospitals are having such a hard time attracting doctors, staff and nurses because they are burning out. It is huge.
We have to continue to talk about this. When it happens, especially for rural and remote communities that have a very unique experience in this country, people lose emergency access, and they often have to travel far to get any kind of specialist appointment. Now when hospitals are looking at strategies to attract and retain people, it is harder for them. Some are trying to rebuild their communities and economies, but they cannot tell people that if they come to the community to work and live, there is going to be an emergency room open if something happens to them.
Recently, the B.C. NDP government stepped up with $30 million to help. Part of that help meant that two hospitals had to close their emergency services at night. However, what was different is it was not happening all the time. Now they have some resources to start an attraction and retention strategy to get more of the health care providers they desperately need in that region.
The reality is that in Port Hardy, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. there are emergency services, but from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. there are none. On Corman Island, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. there are emergency services, but after 7 p.m. there are none. Let us remember that people have to take a ferry to get help or take a helicopter off the island.
I am here and will support this bill because my constituents are pleading for help, and I do not believe the government is standing up to support them. We need the resources flowing. We know something has fundamentally changed in this country, and medicare is worth fighting for.
We need to see that this crisis is happening and that privatization is growing in this country. Why should we be afraid of privatization? Why should we be concerned when the Prime Minister, during an election, made fun of the Conservative leader for saying that privatization is innovation? The Prime Minister said it was wrong, but a little while later he told Doug Ford that it was innovation and good for him. That is the discrepancy here. I really hope members in this House listen to that, because it is a clear discrepancy. All Canadians need to be aware of that.
One of my riding's biggest public health advocates is Lois Jarvis. She is relentless. This woman fights every day for public health care, and I appreciate and respect her so much.
When the communities of Campbell River and Comox Valley were getting hospitals built, she fought like hell to make sure they would have free parking. Do members know why she fought for free parking? It is because those two hospitals serve communities from all around, and people have to come a far distance to get health care. She did not want them to drive for hours, take ferries and then have to pay for parking on top of it, so she fought for it. She fought for public health care, and I will as well.
We know for a fact that private clinics across Canada are advertising that procedures can be done there so much faster and would cost $20,000 to $28,000. We also know that medicare in Canada does the same service for just over $12,000. Privatization is always about making profit; it is not about helping people. That is why the NDP will get up every single day and fight for this system.
Tommy Douglas built it. We all know what he went through to make it happen. It is shameful for the Liberals to take credit for somebody's hard work and inspiration in this country, as if finally the federal government listened and is making sure it happens for every Canadian.
I will stand up for this every day, and I will say that if it does not pass the Lois Jarvis smell test, then I will not have it. Right now, what is happening in this country does not pass her smell test. She knows that privatization is creeping and creeping. Do members know what that means? It means indigenous communities will have even worse health outcomes. It means people who are economically marginalized will be more and more ridden with disease. Our system will fail them. It is already failing too many Canadians.
I will stand up in this House to fight for health care. I certainly hope that everybody in this House has the bravery to do the same.
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- Dec/2/22 11:27:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the situation in our ERs is a disaster. People cannot get treatment or care when they need it. In my riding, the ERs at the hospitals in Port Hardy and Port McNeill have been forced to close regularly. Yesterday, a person even collapsed at the Port Hardy ER. They had gone for help and found it closed.
For years, the Liberals have underfunded health care and Canadians are now not able to even access it. When will the government act on the health care staffing crisis in rural communities and increase the Canada health transfer?
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Madam Speaker, I am honoured to speak to Bill S-203, respecting a federal framework on autism spectrum disorder.
Before I speak about this really important bill, I want to recognize that today is my grandson's birthday. I want to wish him a very happy birthday. I wish I could be with him. As so many of us in this place know, we miss a lot of important days. It is hard for me to miss his birthday today, so I just wanted to wish him all the best.
I want to give many thanks to the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin. I know about his advocacy. I have certainly seen this bill in this place before. I hope that we finally get it through. It is so important.
I think the basis of this is really about how we look at this whole country and make sure that everyone feels like they belong. One thing that is very clearly a challenge in a country as big as ours is that often different provinces and territories have different services that do not always meet the need. It is really important that when we look at this framework, we understand that by bringing everyone together. We want to see the best supports in place for those living with autism spectrum disorder and for those who love them the most.
Whenever one of our fellow members brings their human experience, their lived experience, to this place to say, as a person who lived through these realities, here is a way we can make life better for everyone, we should all pay attention. We should all listen and make sure that when we speak to this issue, we speak in a collective voice. I certainly hope that is what happens.
This really talks about having a national framework and making sure there is a timely and equitable process for people to access screening and diagnosis so that they are able to access the supports that are there. It is also so much about providing good financial supports. Often folks living within this group have challenges. There are extra needs. We want to make sure that people have the supports they need to do this well and that there is support for caregivers. There is nothing worse than seeing people who are working so hard giving all of that care and they burn out because we do not have the proper supports in place for them. We do not want to see that happen. We want there to be success where there should be success.
This also talks about having meaningful research and the resources there to provide that research so that those services are there. In that way, our communities can do better and we can provide an adequate service, community connection, so that people can succeed.
I often think about this. I think about how we can pay attention to what is happening to all of the people in our communities so that no one gets left behind. I think about how we can take the time to notice where those blocks are and remove those blocks so that we can have that wholesome support.
Public education is part of this framework. That is incredibly important. It is only with education that we draw so much more awareness and allow people to hold this information. It creates an environment of curiosity. That is really important. I cannot say enough from my perspective about how much we need to have curiosity so that when somebody is a bit different from us, instead of us being afraid, we really open doors, ask questions and learn how we can work with people in a more meaningful and profound way.
What we know based on so much research is that people in our communities have been left behind. It is shameful that in this country things fall apart. That really worries me.
I often think of Maya Angelou, who is a great hero of mine. She used to say that when we know better, we do better. That is why public education is important because, hopefully, the more we know, the more opportunity we can see, the more doors can be opened and the more inclusive our communities will become.
We also know that, if there is a co-occurring condition, it is even harder for families to be successful. There is a complexity, and added challenges, that we need to address, which is part of the reason this framework is so important. It brings people to the table to talk about the co-occurring conditions and what they mean going into the future. If we are going to provide and build communities that we can be proud of, a country that we can be proud of, we really need to make sure that that is done.
We know that resources around knowledge and research are desperately needed. We also know that rural and remote communities are often challenged to provide the services. This is a big concern for me. For myself, representing a rural and remote community, I see all too often that the services that are desperately needed across the board are just not there, and the people who are trying to provide those services are doing their very best. However, often when we look at service delivery, we forget that broad areas with lots of travel for service providers becomes very challenging, and asking families to travel big distances is another challenge.
We need to be looking at this. This is really important. I have spoken to people in my riding who deliver services, who work with families, and they talk about this repeatedly. They need more time. They need the right services in place. We need to find pathways so we are not sending families far away from home to get help because it just adds another burden. It is harder to get ahead. It is harder to do the everyday things of life. It is harder to maintain employment, sometimes, because of the high needs and care that are required.
I really hope that, when we look at this framework, we are really attentive to making sure that the needs that are out there are supported, regardless if people live in a more urban centre or in a more rural centre.
One of the things that is so important about this bill as well is that it talks about that coordinated effort, bringing all levels of government together to make sure we are not seeing overlap, and where there are gaps, identifying them and finding the resources to fill those gaps. This is so important.
I am grateful to be here to speak to this bill. In closing, I just want to say that the most important part for me, and I think we are almost there in this bill, is the concept of “nothing without us when it is about us”. I need to be very clear that is something the NDP will be making sure of. What we do not want to see happen is a framework put into place where people who are not living this every day, who are not supporting it every day, are having more of a say than those who are experiencing it.
The NDP will be supporting this bill. I look forward to seeing it finally getting through this place and out into the country so we can see better supports, and identify those key challenges, to building a better Canada for everyone.
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- Nov/30/22 2:18:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was just over 30 years ago that women were first allowed to participate in all military workplace settings, including combat by land, sea and air.
How these environments impact their fertility and pregnancy, and even the epigenetics of their offspring, remains largely medically unknown. Many military members delay their pregnancies to support their military careers, but then some find themselves with PTSD upon release and facing a lack of health care providers familiar with PTSD treatments and medications that are safe to continue when pregnant or breastfeeding.
Perinatal and mental health services for veterans and military women appears in three mandate letters for the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, but nothing is moving forward. I challenge those ministers to get to work on this important issue. Military and veteran women deserve to have equitable research and knowledge about the risks of the unique workplace exposures possible from the military.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not necessarily agree with the environmental strategy that the Conservatives have, but it is very spectacular that the government is number 58 out of 64 and bragging about its environmental record. I think we can agree on that.
Coming back to the motion that we are talking about right now, three hospitals in my riding have had their emergency rooms shut down repeatedly. In fact, in October, in Port Hardy, for 28 days of the month there were no emergency services offered for the whole evening and night.
I am wondering if the member shares my concern about the reality that we are seeing no investment from the federal government to support provinces in being better able to deliver these services.
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- Jun/10/22 11:04:51 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, across Canada, many are losing loved ones to toxic drug overdoses. Last month, I met with service providers from across my riding, and we discussed a health-based approach to substance abuse and Bill C-216 from the member for Courtenay—Alberni, which was sadly voted down by many Liberals and the Conservatives.
Feedback was clear: Rural and remote communities have very specific challenges. There is a lack of access to basic health care services, compounded by a lack of access to supports for families and for people struggling with substance abuse. There is a lack of affordable housing and often no supportive housing, putting stabilized people at risk of returning to the streets, where it is impossible for them to stay clean. There is a lack of support for families struggling to support their loved ones who suffer from addiction, and the stigma silences and stops addicts and their loved ones from getting access to the help they need.
I want to thank the many organizations that came to speak with me on that day, and I am so grateful for their dedication to saving the lives of Canadians.
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