- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Health
- Liberal
- Ajax
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $134,982.00
- Government Page
- May/29/24 11:05:10 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I appreciate the continued conversation on this topic and the member's very earnest advocacy. It is an area in which we know that, when folks get tested, we can get them the drugs they need. It becomes a very manageable condition rather than what it had been in the past, which was a death sentence. It is totally remarkable for me to be able to talk with folks and see the transformation they can have.
In the first order, in the pilot project, the test kits will continue, as I have mentioned. As for the support around them, we are continuing to look at how that might be possible. Obviously, there is provincial jurisdiction and provincial partners need to be coming to the table with their own action in this space. We really need to make sure that people get tested. That is not just a federal responsibility.
These kits will continue to be available. We are looking at how we might have supports around that. This was a pilot project, and we are helping provinces, but they really need to be stepping up as well.
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- May/29/24 8:52:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a very big priority for me to get an agreement on personal support workers signed with each and every province and territory. I hope to have more news on that soon, but it is an objective that I share with the member, a commitment we made and a commitment I intend to keep.
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- May/21/24 2:55:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for somebody to live with dignity, they need access to dental care. For somebody to live with dignity, they need access to their diabetes medication. For somebody to live with dignity, they need access to the medicine, support and health care that we are making sure we deliver each and every day.
For the party opposite, the Conservatives, to say that the solution to global inflation and the crisis that people are seeing all over the world is to slash supports to vulnerable peoples and attack the very supports that lift them up in the darkest times that we have faced in generations, we say “no”.
We will continue to be there for Canadians and make sure they get what they need.
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- Feb/27/24 2:55:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me give my thanks to personal care support workers. During the pandemic, which was a time so difficult for all of us, it was enormously difficult for personal care support workers, who did extraordinary work.
We did make a commitment to support provinces. It is the provinces that have the principal responsibility for this. We expect them to step up in supports for personal care support workers. We have said we are there to help them, but it is their lead, and they need to make sure that these individuals are compensated and acknowledged in the way that they deserve.
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- Dec/11/23 2:29:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in a time of great global difficulty, in a time when people all over the world are finding things hard, there are those who stand up, provide solutions and talk about how we make things better. I want to recognize the NDP for stepping forward and talking about solutions and talking about answers, when we saw Conservatives voting against dental care, voting against support for seniors, voting against support for persons with disability, voting against our children who need dental support. Shame on them.
Congratulations to any party that stands up for ideas and getting things done in this country.
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- Oct/17/23 2:58:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Cloverdale—Langley City, who continues to be a champion for better health and for health transformation. He is absolutely right. Last week was a huge week for British Columbia and a huge week for Canada. We saw the investment of $1.2 billion in collaboration over the next three years, but that is part of a 10-year plan to help transform health care in B.C. and, indeed, across the country.
It is going to mean reducing wait times. It is going to mean increasing support for health care workers. It is going to mean providing more support for mental health and substance abuse. It is also going to mean that people in B.C. would see in indicators exactly how their health system is getting better.
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- Jun/15/23 4:22:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would respond in the following way.
The history is important. Let us remember that this system was created, with unanimity, in the depths of the pandemic. All parties agreed to how it would function and how it would work. Then those provisions started to live, and those provisions have lived for the last three years. In fact, the proposal that is on the table now is a continuance of an existing system that the member uses regularly, that I use regularly and that I think every member of this House has used. I see members rail against the utilization of these provisions, and then they turn on their application and vote electronically or they turn on their screen and use it.
After this system was unanimously created and had existed for three years, the procedure and House affairs committee heard from witnesses and did very detailed work, exactly as the member is describing. What came out of it was that it became very clear that two parties were against this under all conditions. The parties were asked numerous times what it would take for them to support it and if there was any flexibility: The answer was “no”. They do not support it in any form and they do not support it in any function.
As a result, we are at the point where continuing the debate means just listening to “no” a thousand times over. That does not make sense. At some point, we have to proceed to implement it, and that is what we are doing today.
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- Jun/12/23 7:06:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will give some direct circumstances that some people may not think about. One is talking to a parent whose kid is going through something really hard in school and really needs mom or dad to be there for a few days. That is going to make a huge difference in their mental health and development. I hear from members who have a loved one who just got terribly devastating news, and they are able to leave immediately to be there for that and still uphold their responsibilities.
That is not something I have seen one party use; that is something I have seen every party use. That is why I would ask members to reflect on how they have used these provisions, how important they are, and to set aside the politics, do the right thing by supporting this motion and these changes so we can continue with hybrid.
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- Nov/15/22 3:50:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is 100% right. We have to think that when we block and delay legislation, we are blocking and delaying critical support to Canadians who need it.
Let us think of housing right now. When the party opposite talks about people who are struggling and need support, and then it obstructs and blocks legislation in this House that can give them support and relief, that is unacceptable. That is exactly what we saw on the bill on dental and housing, Bill C-31. Committees we can move to the next day, but support cannot wait.
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- Oct/21/22 11:52:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the leader of the official opposition said that countries that are running higher inflation than Canada are dumb. That list includes the U.S., Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the entire eurozone.
Right now, when we are in a time of global crisis, when people are finding things hard, it does not matter that Canada has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world. We have to do everything we can to help Canadians, and that is why I ask the member opposite why they will not support dental care for families who need that support. Why will they not support help for those who are low-income and renting? Why do they refuse to support it? Worse, why do they not even let it pass through the House?
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- Oct/21/22 11:44:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member across the way asked his question in an interesting way, but I will answer it directly. It was a very difficult situation for the country. There is the cost around the software, but there was more to it than the cost of the software. There was a lot of support required for the software. It was essential at the time for the government to act quickly and effectively, and that is what it did.
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- Oct/20/22 2:25:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives did not support child care for those who needed it, to help cut it in half immediately and make sure that it goes to $10 a day. They did not support raising taxes on those who are earning the most so that we could give a break to those in the middle class. Here we are again with dental care, where many families are struggling because of the challenges happening across this globe, and they are not supporting that. I understand they are not supporting that, which is their partisan position, but will they at least get out of the way so that those of us who are trying to help Canadians right now can pass legislation?
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- Oct/20/22 2:24:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, around the world we are dealing with unprecedented times: climate change, a war that has happened in Ukraine. We are dealing with global inflation and that demands maturity and serious answers.
I would say for the member opposite that in this time, we have an opportunity not to amplify anxiety, not to make people more scared, but to provide them real solutions. It is bad enough that the Conservatives are not willing to support dental care. I am just asking, as the House leader, as somebody who is attempting to get that legislation in support of Canadians, will they at least stop opposing it so the parties that do support it can get it done?
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- Oct/17/22 2:26:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I simply want to know this. If they do not support trickle-down economics, why do they not support dental care for children? Why do they not support those who are struggling right now with rent? They could do that. It is bad enough that they are not supporting this. At least let the House pass it.
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- Oct/6/22 3:29:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me echo the comments of my hon. colleague. Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times. It is an opportunity to be with family and friends. As the hon. member said, we have not had that chance in a very long time, so it makes this a very special Thanksgiving. As the member correctly stated, and we should reflect on this, we really do have an enormous amount to be grateful for in our country. It is a special occasion to give thanks and to be with the people I love. I hope every member has a wonderful time with their family and friends, and with their constituents, over the upcoming constituency week.
With respect to the member's question about when we come back, I will be talking about what we are going to be doing, but first, in answer to this question, we absolutely cannot, and I will say it every time he asks me this question, give up on action on climate. While we take action to make life more affordable, and in a minute I will talk about what we will do over the next coming weeks, we cannot afford to make pollution free again.
We cannot allow pollution to be something that spews into the environment without consequence. We will continue to return that money to Canadians. Eight out of 10 Canadians will see more back. We can fight climate change, we can do affordability and we can do those things at the same time.
I am proud to say that our agenda to make life more affordable for families continues. It continues tomorrow when we take action, again, on the environment with Bill S-5, making important amendments to the Environmental Protection Act to improve and protect our environment, and at the same time take essential action to move forward with Bill C-31, which would provide families right across Canada the opportunity to ensure they have dental care, that this is not something, as life gets globally more challenging, that is left to the wayside. We know how important dental care is to health. I hope the member opposite will be supporting us in that as it comes forward.
On the Monday, when we return from our constituency week, we will continue with debate on Bill C-31, as I referenced earlier, with respect to dental care and support for housing.
On Tuesday, we will move forward with Bill C-22, the Canada disability act, which is critical support to help lift hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are disabled out of poverty. This is essential action to help them, and I hope the Conservatives would support that. I know other parties are.
On Wednesday, we will return to Bill S-5.
Thursday will be an allotted day.
On Friday, we hope to make progress on Bill S-4, which is an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act, COVID-19 response and other measures. We also look forward to advancing Bill C-9, with respect to the Judges Act.
Last, I would like to inform the House that the Wednesday, following question period, there will be a really important opportunity to pay respects and tribute to our friend and former colleague, who we are all mourning, the late Bill Blaikie.
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- Sep/29/22 3:13:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, before I begin, let me thank the member opposite and all Conservative members for their support in advancing Bill C-30, which is critical support at this time on the issue of affordability. I want to thank them for helping to move it to committee and for their work to move it through committee. It will be our priority next week to ensure that those critical supports are passed.
In response to the question of whether we will cease taking action on climate change, I note we will never stop fighting for this planet. We recognize that the climate and the economy are intricately bound. However, I would suggest, as my hon. colleague has suggested, that we have critical supports for vulnerable people. An example is Bill C-22. It needs to be adopted so that those who are disabled in this country can be lifted out of poverty. I would suggest there are families that need dental care, and that is covered in Bill C-31. I would suggest there are people who need support on housing, and that is also covered in Bill C-31.
The good news for the member opposite is there are many ways he can help as we work through the affordability crisis that is hitting across the globe.
On Monday, we are going to continue with second reading of Bill C-31, which I referenced earlier. It is an act respecting the cost-of-living relief measures related to dental care and rental housing.
On Wednesday, we will call Bill S-5 concerning the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
I would also like to inform the House that next Thursday shall be an allotted day.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's anxiousness to participate in the debate, but I will say very clearly that the Conservatives talk about defunding the CBC and about not supporting Canadian content, including in this specific case. Does the member across, who is arguing against support for this bill, not believe that Disney or Netflix, which profit here, should be promoting Canadian content? Does he not believe they should be giving dollars back to Canadian producers of culture and content? It is a battle they fought for a long time—
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- Mar/2/22 4:47:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely correct. We are going to back to our constituencies for two weeks, so if we do not deal with this today, the matter would be put off for three weeks. It is very confusing to see the Conservatives stand up and demand that there be oversight and accountability, but also demand that we not set up the process that would do the thing they say they want. They are speaking in contradictions.
Because I suspect one of the next questions will be from the members opposite, I would invite them to talk to us about the conversations they have had with business owners inside the red zone and about how they were affected. They should talk about the residents who were affected, about why they were outside supporting the protest and about why they would be demanding to chair a process to overlook the thing they were supporting. It is an untenable, illogical position. There is a very simple solution. It is to vote right now to create this committee, get to work right now and get this done.
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- Feb/17/22 2:55:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have had, and I am sure all members have had, the opportunity to talk to people who come from countries that are not free, and who know what it means to have their freedoms restricted in ways so they are not able to live, share their thoughts or protest in peaceful ways.
I am sure, and I would hope the member opposite would agree, that what we are seeing outside, such as the terrorizing of residents, the harassment at homeless shelters and the inability for Ottawa citizens to continue their lives, has gone way too far. Please stop supporting these illegal activities and join with us so our lives can begin to return to normal here.
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- Feb/15/22 2:38:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will tell members what I am done with. I am done with seeing this protest continue and these illegal actions continue, which have cost billions of dollars for businesses and have terrorized downtown residents. I am tired of seeing Conservative tweets. The member for Provencher is saying he supports it, and the member for Yorkton—Melville is saying that ripping down barricades in front of a war memorial is a patriotic act. I am watching somebody who aspires to be the leader of the Conservative Party say that what is happening outside is something he stands by.
That is enough. Please, it is time to end this. Stop supporting what is going on outside.
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