- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Health
- Liberal
- Ajax
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $134,982.00
- Government Page
- May/29/24 8:47:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the first thing is the interpretation letters that we need to issue, which I think will be critically important in helping to stem that. Second, we recognize that provinces may have taken some actions coming out of COVID to try to reduce burden but that we need to see the gaps closed and public systems protected. Under the Canada Health Act, we have made reductions in instances where private health care has been present, and we have the ability to do that in other places.
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- Apr/16/24 11:10:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it was true in the 1960s and it is true now, that there are purveyors of doom.
There are those who try to push people to despair. When one does not believe in a public health care system, what does one want people to do? One wants people to despair, because nothing comes from despair. All change comes from looking at what is hard and true and driving for change.
Let us talk very specifically. Every health care system in the world is facing extraordinary backlogs as a result of COVID and stress on their system. It is a question how we meet that. These 13 agreements and these investments of $200 billion are demonstrating that we are meeting that challenge. In these plans, in articulated detail, is exactly how we are going to get to the health system Canadians deserve.
With respect to dental care, we have thousands and thousands of dentists who have signed up across the country.
Secondly, just on Thursday, I met with the dental associations, and I can tell the House that we are down to a couple of minor issues and that I am extraordinarily confident that over the next number of months, we will see virtually every dental office in the country participating in this program.
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- Nov/3/23 11:57:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, every detail was available, not just to the Auditor General, but to all the parties. The Bloc Québécois had the opportunity to see all the information. It was a process tied to COVID‑19 and all the information was available.
At the beginning of the pandemic, it was so important to ensure that every option was available. It was a very reasonable measure. It is why Canada had one of the best responses in the world during the pandemic.
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- Nov/1/23 3:24:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his work in this space.
As he knows, and as I mentioned earlier in question period, Canada had among the best responses to COVID-19 anywhere in the world. Thanks to vaccines and to other measures, we saved literally hundreds of thousands of lives, which is something we should be deeply proud of.
We are going to be conducting not only the review that the member is talking about but also a forward-facing review. There are all kinds of reviews now to take the lessons that we learned during the pandemic and apply them to our entire health system.
I want to thank everybody who was on the front lines of keeping us safe. We are going to honour that work by making sure we learn and do everything we can to keep people safe.
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- Sep/18/23 3:23:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the report on the procurement and distribution of COVID–19 rapid tests.
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- Oct/21/22 11:42:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, here are the facts. During an unprecedented time when the country was being rocked by COVID, we needed to be able to make sure that people—
An hon. member: It does not matter. It is the public's money.
Hon. Mark Holland: Madam Speaker, they are saying it does not matter. It absolutely does matter that people were able to cross the border, that we were able, on an urgent basis, to create a system that kept them safe and ensured that they were able to continue to have mobility.
In every step of the pandemic, whether or not it is in supports or whether or not it's in mobility, we were there for Canadians. As crises occur, our government will respond, and will always do so to the highest standard.
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- Jun/23/22 10:58:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think we all need to take a step back here. What is being talked about is continuing something we have had for the last two years, which has given us incredible flexibility to represent our constituents, as people have been ill. Just last week, we had five members who had COVID, and we have many members this week, and they are continuing to be able to represent their constituents.
This would be for a year. If people are really against it, and I am hearing some people who really do not like it and that is fair, the procedure and House affairs committee is going to look at whether we would use these provisions outside of the pandemic or inside it, but it would be for a year. We have a committee that is going to be looking at all of the concerns. People are very passionate about this, saying that it should be used outside of a pandemic or that it should not be used outside of a pandemic. We need a parliamentary process to adjudicate that and to look at its relative merits, but how upset folks are getting is just not in line with what is here in front of us today.
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- Jun/23/22 10:56:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this week, with the situation as it is now, many members have come down with COVID-19. The only way they can participate in the parliamentary debates and vote is through the hybrid system. The pandemic is ongoing. People are dying every day, unfortunately. This is a very serious situation.
This flexibility would give members the option to use the hybrid system. If things improve over time and members no longer want to use the hybrid system, then that will be up to them. They are not in any way obligated to use it.
However, if something changes, like with what happened with the omicron variant, we will need to be flexible and adapt. That is exactly what the motion would allow us to do.
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- Jun/22/22 7:17:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is no obligation on the hon. House leader for the Conservatives or on his colleagues to use any of these provisions. They can show up to this place 100% of the time. When they have had COVID or been sick, they have used these provisions and voted through them. If they would rather not vote or participate and not represent their constituents using these tools, that is an option they have.
On this side of the aisle, we do not find it acceptable for somebody who is sick to attend. As I said, we had five individuals just last week, as we are still in the middle of this pandemic, who had COVID, and despite that, they were able to continue to participate. They did not come in here and they did not spread it. I think that is responsible, and it allows us to continue to do our work. Rather than debating this for an entire summer, leading up to having to deal with it again in the fall, this would provide us with the stability and clarity we need.
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