SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 13

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2021 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 13 - Dec/8/21
The Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 9:11:54 p.m.
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Sorry. The hon. member.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:11:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it was a simple question: Will the federal government meet the deadline of January 1, 2022, which is less than a month from now? I guess the answer to that is no, it will not. Can the minister confirm when national universal pharmacare will be in place for Canadians?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:12:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, if I may continue, we have announced and already made significant investments in biomedical fabrication and development in Canada, leading to some serious advances in the production of and access to medicines—
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The Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 9:12:27 p.m.
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The hon. member.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:12:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, again, I guess Canadians have no answer from the Liberals about when they might get universal pharmacare. Canada had the highest proportion of COVID deaths in long-term care of any country in the OECD. Will the minister confirm when national standards for long-term care will be in place?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:12:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have two things on this. First, it is being developed now, and we started many months ago in collaboration with the provinces and territories and experts. Second, we have announced in the platform an investment of $9 billion to support investments in long-term care.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does the minister agree that we should end the for-profit delivery of long-term care to our seniors across Canada?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I understand the concern and share it very much. In my own province, if we add up all those people who died in long-term care centres, we—
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The Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:22 p.m.
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The hon. member.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, during the last election, the Liberal Party promised to “work towards a national school nutritious meal program with a $1 billion investment over five years.” Can the minister confirm this investment will be put in place during the fall economic statement?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am glad that the member has an eye on the fall economic statement. Our colleague, the Minister of Finance, is going to produce and share a great statement.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:13:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care issues important guidelines to health professionals across Canada, yet the task force lacks members with subject matter expertise. This can and has resulted in questionable, inaccurate and dangerous guidelines being issued, for example using outdated studies and ignoring relevant data to recommend against life-saving breast screening for Canadian women in their 40s. Multiple other specialties are similarly affected, such as urology, psychiatry and gastroenterology. During the election, the Liberal Party committed to reviewing the task force. When will this happen?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:14:30 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is a great example of something that is extremely important. We look forward to doing this as quickly as possible, and we know that we can count on the member's input to make that possible.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:14:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the government has allowed PHAC to use the Pacific Gateway Hotel in British Columbia as a federal quarantine hotel since March 2020. Over 140 workers, mostly women, with decades on the job were terminated by that employer using the pandemic as a cover. Workers have now been on strike for seven months. This week, it was reported that travellers are finding “wretched conditions” at Pacific Gateway and other quarantine hotels run by PHAC. Will this government commit to move out of the Pacific Gateway Hotel and cancel its arrangement with it?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:15:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, obviously caring for people in such facilities is absolutely essential. These people require appropriate treatment, and we expect all of these service providers to meet and abide by all appropriate labour and health laws.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:15:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in May 2021, the City of Vancouver submitted its final proposal to Health Canada requesting an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize the simple possession of illicit drugs. It is now half a year later, and the federal government has yet to render a decision. Given that the catastrophic death toll from Canada's drug poisoning crisis is growing every single day, does the minister believe that this is an acceptable delay?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:16:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague is pretty well informed and mindful of the important challenges to deal with. Section 56 exemptions are being considered in that particular context. We are working, obviously, very closely with the City of Vancouver and the Government of B.C. in that regard.
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Mr. Don Davies
  • Dec/8/21 9:16:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Canada's premiers are calling for the federal share of health care spending to rise from the current 22% of total costs to 35%. Given that the federal government initially agreed to cover half the cost of medicare when it was first established, does the minister agree that 22% is an unreasonable share for the federal government to assume?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 9:16:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there are four key statistics here: first, the $41-billion-plus Canada health transfer; second, the $11-billion investment that we put into place in 2017 on home care and mental health care; third, the $55-billion investment we made during COVID-19; and fourth, the $25-billion promise we made—
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The Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 9:17:10 p.m.
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The hon. member.
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