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Member of Parliament

Bonita Zarrillo

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • NDP
  • Port Moody—Coquitlam
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 68%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $129,260.13

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24
Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)
  • May/6/24 6:21:00 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-64 
Madam Speaker, I really appreciated the speech by my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. He shared such amazing points today about the importance of looking after Canadians. I am standing today, as a woman in Parliament, discussing one of the most important aspects of women's health and daily life: access to contraceptives. This health care measure is currently restricted by whether one can afford to access it or not. It should not be that way. Every time I enter this place, I am aware of how different my experiences are from the men who have not had to deal with regular menstrual cycles, painful periods, ovarian cysts, PMS and PMDD, endometriosis, menstrual migraines and unintended pregnancy. These are part of daily life when one has ovaries, starting in one's teens. Having ovaries requires management and affects everyday choices for school, work, recreation and more. With that in mind, I am going to take a moment to read a poem by my daughter Coral. She is a writer and a poet. I wanted to share it because it shows how periods affect women, girls and non-binary people, from their very early teens. It is called Late Bloomer. In the seventh grade, all my friends started menstruating, but not me. We would travel in a gossiping group to the school washroom and I would listen as my friends ripped tape inside stalls. In high school, we had swimming in gym. I had a hard time with a box of “easy applicators”. I cried, one foot propped up on the toilet. I lied on the ground, tried to raise my hips and contort my body to be comfortable. The garbage filled with failure. I surrendered to pads. Diapers, my friends called them. I would hide panic as girls exchanged tampons in cute pink wrappers. Once a pad fell out of my bag, I snatched it up, cheeks shame red. I concealed pads far up sleeves and deep down in pockets. On days I forgot a pad I settled for folded tissues and tied my jacket around my waist. Today, I borrowed a pad from a stranger. Her cheeks weren't red and neither were mine. bloom, bloom, bloom “Bloom, bloom, bloom” is how I see this bill. It is time to blossom. It is a bill that sets in place a framework to consider the needs of women, girls and transgender people who menstruate. My message to the men in power across the globe, including in Canada, who have spent their legislative time trying to control women and their bodies, while ignoring the enhancements that are there in basic health care, is to stop it, and let this bill bloom. At a time when the possibility of gender equity remains elusive, what gives me hope is that in this bill, and currently in the tabled budget, the needs of women are starting to make their way onto the main stage, after 150 years. Affordable child care, free contraceptives, the red dress alert from my colleague, the member for Winnipeg Centre, a caregiving strategy and a sectoral table on care economy are all women's issues that the Conservatives and the Liberals have ignored for decades. With that in mind, that is what causes me worry. The Conservatives in the House are rejecting these important advancements for women and, at the same time, are working against us by espousing that they would override women's charter rights on a whim. Conservatives are dangerous to women. If they ever had the power, they would immediately go after a woman's right to choose, just like what has happened in the United States. I never want to see that happen. Not only would Bill C-64 help women as a framework for historic expansion of health care to single-payer pharmacare, but also the first rollout would give access to life-saving medication and devices for diabetics. Linda, a resident in my riding, recently told me she estimates that, since she was diagnosed with diabetes over 40 years ago, she has spent over $120,000 on medication and devices to manage it. This is unfair. She has had to spend thousands of dollars a month just to stay alive. While I am on the topic of gender equity, Linda shared that she was 26 when she was diagnosed. She went to the doctor. She was single at the time, and the doctor said to just go find herself a husband, and she would be fine. This is what happens when someone cannot afford their medication or when society decides that women should not have economic empowerment and that they would not be able to afford their medication on their own. Even with the loss of the life of a diabetic, if they do not get their medication, the Conservatives have decided to block the pharmacare bill. While they enjoy their MP taxpayer-funded health care and dental benefits, they deny them to others who need them. With the new pharmacare bill, New Democrats know that Canadians would have the access to medication that they need, not with a credit card, but with a health care card. This would mean that close to 10 million Canadians would not have to suffer in pain and discomfort, would not have to put their health at risk and would not have to let their conditions get worse. This would no longer have to happen. The reason the Conservatives and the Liberals have let it happen in the past is profits from big pharma, as my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley mentioned. It is about trying to keep big pharma happy, not about trying to keep Canadians healthy. We need to do the work to keep Canadians healthy, to make sure we do preventative medicine and to release the burden of the expenses of contraceptives, diabetic medication and other medications as they come out. This is why we must pass the bill as quickly as possible. People are waiting on us, and the provinces are ready to come together and make life better for people. The NDP has gotten this victory for Linda, for all women, and for people who use contraceptives and have not been able to get access to contraceptives. All those people will be able to get access very soon, and it would roll out to be even more. They would be able to keep the money in their pockets rather than in the pocket of some rich CEO. I want to close and to double down on the fact that this is not the time to let our guard down as Canadians and as the NDP. This is not the time to let our guard down. Ideologies south of the border are coming up into Canada. There is a conversation in the House, and the Conservatives are trying to open a conversation about removing a woman's right to choose. They are using bills like this pharmacare bill around contraceptives to have that conversation. We cannot let it happen. Also, for all Canadians, who are paying some of the highest drug prices in the world, this is not fair, and this is legislation. This is because of the Conservatives and the Liberals before, who have let big pharma take advantage of Canadians, gouge Canadians and made Canadians sicker because of their lack of compassion and their desire to control a woman's body.
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Context: House Hansard - 104 - Sep/28/22
Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)
  • Sep/28/22 2:20:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gender inequality costs lives. Tomorrow, survivors and researchers from Ovarian Cancer Canada will be on Parliament Hill as part of their awareness month. I raise my hands to their work. Ovarian cancer has historically been under-researched due to gender bias, but with strong ongoing advocacy, awareness has been raised and new research is under way, which is also unlocking insights into this highly fatal disease. Canada has an important challenge ahead to increase survival rates; we are not keeping pace with other countries on improving outcomes. Sadly, only 44% of people diagnosed with this cancer live more than five years. The journey with ovarian cancer is difficult, and the side effects of treatment interfere significantly with quality of life. I want everyone living with or going through ovarian cancer to know that I see them and I see how strong they are.
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