SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Rachel Blaney

  • Member of Parliament
  • NDP
  • North Island—Powell River
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 65%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $145,542.18

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 307 - May/2/24
Ms. Rachel Blaney
  • May/2/24 6:59:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really enjoy sharing a border with the member, and we work together collaboratively on all the issues that face the military folks in our region, because it is really important. It is important for us, as Canadians, to understand what our military does, the great work it does both nationally and internationally, and to understand that, if we do not start looking at military as a whole family, like Ombud Lick said, we could get to a point where we do not have enough people to serve our country. It could very quickly become an issue of national security. It includes housing and includes working with families. We know a lot of spouses really have a challenging time moving from place to place and keeping their seniority in the work they do. We have to look at what military families need and do much better by them.
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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23
Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)
  • Dec/11/23 3:06:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the delay-and-disappoint Liberals are letting veterans and their families down yet again. This time it is because they failed to eliminate the “marriage over 60” clause that puts veterans' spouses, mostly elderly women, into poverty. When I asked the Minister of National Defence what has happened with the $150 million the Liberals promised for a veterans survivors fund, after four years, he could not give me an answer. Our veterans and their families deserve better, and so I am asking the minister again: Are any of the veterans' families receiving the promised survivors benefit?
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Context: House Hansard - 184 - Apr/25/23
Ms. Rachel Blaney
  • Apr/25/23 1:48:33 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-47 
Mr. Speaker, I have put forward a private member's bill on this, and I just want to remind people that we do not have to wait for my bill to be in the order of precedence. Actually, the government, at any point, could take leadership and address this issue in a meaningful way. My bill is just one suggestion. The government has the power to do that. The other thing I want to draw the member's attention to is that the veterans committee did do a study, at my request, on this very issue. We talked to veterans and their spouses, who talked about the reality of the “gold-digger” clause. I might add that women across this country are very offended by that name. I have heard from so many of them who say that they are absolutely not gold diggers. They did not marry veterans for their money; they married veterans because they cared about them. I think there are a lot of acts we can do, but we definitely want to see the veterans survivors fund. That money needs to move and go to these people.
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