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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Feb/1/22 4:36:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in my riding of Vancouver East, there are a great number of seniors who are absolutely desperate because their GIS is being cut or reduced. It is so confusing. One of my constituents has been referred by government agents to go to Service Canada to get a form to see if he could get his GIS restored, even though that process would not work for him. He is frustrated beyond measure and now he is faced with eviction. The government has not addressed this issue, not with the fall economic statement, not at least until May. It does not help the problem. What suggestions does he have for seniors who are being evicted right now?

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 4:37:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we will be there for seniors day in and day out. I suggest that any parliamentarian that needs to raise specific issues for specific constituents bring them forward to the pertinent PS and minister.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Feb/1/22 4:38:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move that the House (a) acknowledge that the leader of the official opposition in the Senate expressed his strong concerns that a senator from the Conservative caucus was not appointed a member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians; (b) regret the leader of the official opposition in the House proclaiming that members of the Conservative caucus would not sit on NSICOP; (c) recommend the appointment of Conservative Senator Fabian Manning to NSICOP; and (d) agree to work with the government to ensure that the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act is swiftly and solely amended to allow for an additional member of the Senate to participate in the committee.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Feb/1/22 4:39:04 p.m.
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All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay. Some hon. members: Agreed. Some hon. members: No.

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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant

Feb/1/22 4:39:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, that was an odd time to be putting forth a unanimous consent motion. Was he just trying to distract from the fact that he was the only person in the House to disagree with condemning a vote on blackface?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Feb/1/22 4:39:39 p.m.
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I am sorry, but the time for presenting unanimous consent motions is not stipulated anywhere in the Standing Orders. Anybody can present them at any time. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Hamilton Mountain.

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Ms. Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 4:39:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to address this House in my introductory speech. Today I am fiercely proud to speak to several elements in the Speech from the Throne that are particularly close to my heart: our government's plan to improve life for women and all Canadians by addressing the housing crisis and creating a national child care system, and our efforts to bolster our democracy and civic discourse by reforming the Broadcasting Act. Before I discuss the throne speech, I would like to thank a few people who helped me get here. My son, Ty, has been with me every step of the journey, making the experience profoundly more meaningful. I could not have been here without him or my partner Michael, whose unwavering support made the campaign possible and made our family's transition to my new life as the member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain as smooth as possible. My heartfelt thanks go to my campaign team and the many volunteers who showed up every day. As the Governor General explained, we are here to honour the trust placed in us by our constituents by representing and serving them. I think the throne speech exemplifies this by its commitment to fairness for women and all Canadians. The throne speech is good for women. It outlines our government's plan to take strong action to support Canadian women, and supporting women has always been a major priority for me. That is why I am delighted that our government has chosen to examine its policy and spending through a gender-based lens. I have been volunteering with women-serving organizations since the early 1990s, starting with a year in Honduras in support of vulnerable women in Tegucigalpa and La Mosquitia and continuing in my years in Hamilton through community organizations like the YWCA. I have seen the life-changing impact of programs that support women, from helping women become financially independent to accessing services and supports to finding safe permanent housing for themselves and their children to finding affordable child care. These supports not only help women and their children; these supports also improve communities. On the subject of women’s safety and security, indigenous women have suffered much in Canada, so I am pleased that our government will accelerate work with indigenous partners to address the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women. Investments in women are important, because the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for us. We need a just recovery, one in which everyone has a chance to succeed and realize their potential. That means an inclusive and equitable recovery. The Speech from the Throne supports this by highlighting our government’s two major priorities, housing and child care. There is a housing crisis in Hamilton and across Canada. Far too many people have been forced out of their homes by dramatically rising rents and renovictions. Many women who were trapped at home with their abusers during the pandemic fled their violent situations, and shelters are operating at full capacity or over their capacity. That is why our government is moving forward with a 10-year national action plan on gender-based violence and will continue to support organizations like YWCA Hamilton and Good Shepherd, which are providing women with critical supports. Every Canadian deserves safe, stable housing and access to social and health services. Our government believes this. That is why we have a national housing strategy, working with community partners like Good Shepherd to ensure more Hamiltonians experience the safety and dignity of a home, and can keep that home thanks to wraparound support services. This government is delivering on that commitment, as shown by the recent announcement by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion of more than a hundred new supportive homes for marginalized people in Hamilton. The national child care program introduced by this government is another reason I was inspired to run for office. In Hamilton Mountain, our government’s plan will save a typical family more than $11,000 a year in the first year. By 2026, families with infants will be saving almost $18,000 a year. Imagine the impact these savings will have on the quality of life for families in Hamilton and across Canada. The early learning and child care plan will ease the financial burden on parents, create new jobs and allow parents, especially women, to re-enter the workforce. This plan will make life better for children, parents and ultimately our communities. Studies show that for every dollar invested in childhood education, the broader economy receives between $1.50 and $2.80 in return. I had the chance to visit one of the non-profit Umbrella child care centres in my riding with the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and I have stayed in touch with executive director Darryl Hall. He says that hundreds of Hamilton families are on wait-lists for licensed, not-for-profit child care. Wait times range from two months to two years. He says that this wait absolutely affects a parent's ability to re-enter the workforce, and it also has a negative impact on child development. Darryl says, “Families are being forced into unlicensed and unregulated care for their children.” He says the Conservative plan for child care tax credits does nothing to address the staffing and infrastructure challenges. This is especially important in Hamilton, where we have a larger percentage of children from marginalized communities compared to the rest of the province. In some parts of the city, more than 50% of kindergartners are considered vulnerable in terms of development or skills. A higher proportion of kids are from low-income families compared to the national average. Darryl says that these kids need access to a diverse and qualified system to support their unique needs. These kids cannot wait. Our government has a plan for hundreds of thousands of new child care spaces that would ease that wait-list and a plan to increase the number of qualified staff, address low wages and stabilize the workforce. As we move on to the recovery phase, our government will adapt support measures and programs to help small businesses keep their doors open. Thanks to our emergency programs, employment levels have recovered and are now higher than they were before the pandemic. We will continue to ensure that Canadians have access to good jobs, that workers get decent wages, and that people can develop the skills they need to find and keep good jobs during the recovery, after the pandemic and beyond. The government knows that the best way to grow our economy and make life more affordable is to end the threat of COVID‑19. We procured enough vaccines for every adult in Canada two months ahead of schedule, and we now have enough supply to vaccinate our children and provide boosters to all those who are eligible. Finally, I would like to address another government priority that is close to my heart: reform of the obsolete 1991 Broadcasting Act. For more than two decades, I had the privilege of engaging with people in Hamilton Mountain through my work as a journalist, first with the Hamilton Spectator and then with CHCH TV News. People in Hamilton and across Canada depend on local news to keep them informed about their community. It is a crucial part of our democracy, and working in journalism afforded me the privilege of learning about and hearing from communities and people across Hamilton and beyond. Now I am here to give Hamilton Mountain a strong voice in this chamber and to be a steadfast voice for the value of local news in this country. As we heard in the throne speech, the government will ensure that web giants pay their fair share. We will level the playing field and protect Canadian culture and creativity. This is the moment parliamentarians must work together to get big things done and shape a better future for coming generations. This is what I have heard from the people of Hamilton Mountain, and they are the reason I am here. This throne speech outlines our government's plan to support Canadians so that everyone can participate in shaping our better, fairer and more prosperous future. Thank you.

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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)

Feb/1/22 4:49:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canada's Ethics Commissioner. Mario Dion. found that member's Prime Minister improperly influenced then-minister of justice and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, disposed of her, then got rid of Dr. Philpott, and that is after he elbowed an opposition MP in the chest. We found out later that he groped a reporter. As a defender of women, a promoter of women's rights, why was it that she joined that party with a Prime Minister notorious for his toxic masculinity?

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Ms. Lisa Hepfner

Feb/1/22 4:49:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am so proud to be part of this Liberal team. It has had a 50% gender-diverse cabinet since it started six years ago and has maintained that proportion. We have a female Deputy Prime Minister and finance minister. We have a woman who is the head of defence. We have women in key positions in cabinet. That says for itself that this is a feminist government, a government that believes in women, a government that believes in things that support women, such as child care.

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Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Feb/1/22 4:50:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her remarkable maiden speech in the House. That is a milestone in the life of a member. I applaud her and also want to commend her on the quality of her French. She spoke at length about women and housing. The two are interrelated. For example, every day a woman in Quebec knocks on the door of a shelter that helps women who are victims of domestic violence and is sent away because of a lack of resources. Last week Scotiabank reported that Quebec was the worst country in the G7 for its average number of housing units per 1,000 inhabitants. We are at 424, and the average is 471. To get to 471, the G7 average, we would have to build 1.8 million housing units in Canada, which would be a huge job. Will my colleague advocate within her party for massive investments in social housing in the coming years? We really need them.

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Ms. Lisa Hepfner

Feb/1/22 4:51:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will try to answer in French, but please excuse any errors I may make. I love Quebec and have spent a lot of time there. However, I think the problems my colleague mentioned exist across the country. For example, I talked about the risk of homelessness in Hamilton. The minister recently promised $26.7 million to build over 100 housing units for people in Hamilton who are at risk of homelessness—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Feb/1/22 4:52:40 p.m.
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Another member has to have the opportunity to ask a question. The hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

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Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)

Feb/1/22 4:52:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, a top concern in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith that has been brought forward over and over has been the skyrocketing delays through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Delays have been so bad. They were bad before the pandemic, but they have become so much worse since then. Families have been forced apart for years, and IRCC is still years away from meeting the service standards. Families have been telling me that they have been at their breaking points, forced to struggle alone. Does the member opposite agree that it is time to take real action to address the backlogs and help reunify the hundreds of families desperately waiting for help in Nanaimo—Ladysmith?

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Ms. Lisa Hepfner

Feb/1/22 4:53:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I did hear our minister responsible speaking to these issues today. He spoke about how much he has been able to accomplish in terms of the immigration system and how many immigrants we have been able to bring to Canada despite the pandemic. We have obviously more to do always, but I think we have done a fair job.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Feb/1/22 4:53:59 p.m.
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Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Regina—Lewvan, The Environment; the hon. member for Kenora, Regional Economic Development; the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable, Health.

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Ms. Raquel Dancho (Kildonan—St. Paul, CPC)

Feb/1/22 4:54:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I ran to be an MP because I love Canada. I love our country. My ancestors fled tyranny and war-torn eastern Europe over 130 years ago to come to the Canadian prairies for the freedom and opportunity it represented. Their hard work and sacrifice created a better life for all of those who followed, including me. I am motivated every day to honour them, to do right by them and my constituents, and to contribute to a united and prosperous Canada, glorious and free. However, since I was elected over two years ago, I have grown increasingly concerned over the state of our national unity. Whether it has been the alarming rise of western alienation or Quebec separatism, or the increasing divide between urban versus rural, or the division on the COVID-19 pandemic, national unity seems to be at an all-time low. It is understandable in many ways, given the terrible two years it has been for all of us. Thirty thousand Canadians have tragically died of COVID-19, and thousands continue to suffer from long COVID. Thousands more have suffered from delayed surgeries. Few families, including my own, have been left untouched by the cruelty of COVID-19. As a result, millions of Canadians, and I have heard this first-hand, are terrified of COVID. They feel that it would be a death sentence to them or their loved ones. Many will never recover from this fear. I have spoken to them first-hand. Many constituents of mine have said that they will never take their masks off again in public or feel comfortable in large crowds, or even travel ever again. Thankfully, with incredible human ingenuity, COVID vaccines were developed at warp speed and rolled out worldwide to billions of people in a matter of months, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Thanks to the extraordinary health care workers, thousands of sick Canadians were supported throughout this pandemic. However, I do believe we have reached a point where we must make serious investments in transformative change and take the best practices from around the world for our health care system so that we will all be better prepared for a future pandemic. Every expert is telling us that this will not be the last one. There are more to come. We will go through this again. It is just a matter of time. The data tell us that during normal times, on average, our health care capacity operates at over 100%. Hallway medicine, eight-hour EI wait times, months for MRIs and critical surgeries for hip and knee replacements, and many other issues have been around longer than I have been alive. We know that our health care system experiences tremendous strain during flu season, let alone during the tsunami of sick people from COVID over the past two years. This is why governments say that they have needed to take extreme and extraordinary measures. It was because our health care system cannot handle everybody getting sick at one time. We were told we are all in this together, and we all stayed home. We all remember “two weeks to bend the curve”, yet two years later, we continue to live extremely restricted lives. As a result, hundreds of thousands of businesses that depend on public gatherings have closed, representing countless family dreams and all the jobs they supported being completely wiped out. Untold damage has been done to our mental health and the development of our children. The deadly impact of isolation on our elderly is immeasurable. There is increased alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, and depression. The list of the impacts of this goes on and on. As a representative of nearly 100,000 people, I have heard of these traumas first-hand. I have dealt with sobbing, threats, screaming and pleading, and their stories have haunted me. To describe the last two years in one word, I would say “trauma”. We have all experienced trauma, and millions of Canadians are at the end of their rope. They cannot take this anymore. The result of that is right outside this building. Honestly, from that perspective, I do not find all that is going on right now outside very surprising. It is like a pressure release valve has exploded after the last two years. I do want the truckers and all those who support the convoy to know that I hear them. I seem them, and I care about them and all of our freedoms. Watching the footage online of that convoy making its way across Canada, passing families of all cultural backgrounds along highways and overpasses, and the gatherings of tens of thousands of people on Parliament Hill, I have never seen so many Canadian flags waving in the wind. As a patriotic Canadian, I have to say it made me quite emotional. It makes me emotional now. I acknowledge, though, and this is important, that some people are angry. I denounce the evil people who seized this opportunity to display their ignorance and their hatred, and I denounce them fully. However, many more, thousands more, are expressing their patriotism for their country. They are expressing hope for the future and the excitement for change, which is honestly giving them the will to keep going and persevere through this incredibly difficult time. They just want to be heard by their government and have them look at other jurisdictions and what is happening in the U.K., the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and many other advanced nations. They are opening up, moving past mandates and learning to live with this. We can do it, too. We have some of the highest vaccination rates, if not the highest vaccination rates, in the world. We have rapid tests. We have all put the work in. We have all the tools we need, and now is the time to move forward. To be honest, I fear that we may never get back to normal, especially when I see the hatred that has developed between Canadians. Treating each other with dignity, compassion and respect seems to have been forgotten long ago. I have to say, on a personal level, I understand the frustrations of some vaccinated Canadians toward unvaccinated Canadians. I hear them, too. I see them and hear from them. I get it. However, I want to share a couple of stories with everyone. When I was door-knocking during the last election, I met a single woman about my age. She was on her front step and her young son was clinging to her leg as she shared her story with me. She was a social worker. She said last year she received a hero of the year award for going above and beyond as a social worker to help the most vulnerable in our community. This is when she started to cry in front of me. She said that this year no one would talk to her. She said that she was going to be fired from her job. Do members want to know why? It is because she was too afraid to get the COVID vaccine. She was too afraid. She believed it in her bones and there was no convincing this woman otherwise. When the Province of Manitoba brought forward its strong mandates, there were articles in the local paper about nursing staff suddenly seeing a lot of anger, rage and tears from new people coming into get the jab. It seemed that some people in the public were surprised to learn this. Honestly, I did not find it very surprising that people who were forced against their will to get the vaccine, with their jobs hanging over their heads and who believed with every fibre of their being that it was not right for them for whatever reason, were angry and crying. I have talked to these people. They have reached out to me. I have made the time. They are my constituents and I have heard them out. They described to me their experience of getting the jab, so to speak. It was as if it broke them. It ripped away part of who they were and of everything they believed this country is. It took away their agency and their bodily autonomy. That is what mandates do to people. That is the reality. Of course, there were tears and rage. These are human beings. I will remind everyone that for the first year and a half of the pandemic, it was this Prime Minister who said there were vaccines for all those who wanted them. He must have said it a thousand times. With the drop of a hat he called the election, and within days of that he was yelling into a microphone at a Liberal rally, and saying that people had the right not to get vaccinated, but they did not have the right to sit next to someone who was. He said that. Shame on him for dehumanizing people that way. Canada is fracturing and the Prime Minister is winning votes on it. Whether it is the east versus west, urban versus rural, left versus right or now the pandemic, he has been dividing Canadians for six years. Uniting the country, leading freedom over fear, should be the number one priority of the Prime Minister. To be honest, I am beginning to doubt we can ever unite Canadians again, that we will ever get back to normal, and that people can make their own personal health choices and still be equal. During a particularly low day recently, and I think we have all had those over the last two years, I heard a story that gave me some renewed hope and motivation. I will share it with everyone. It is about President John F. Kennedy. In 1961, JFK had a decision to make. He wanted to call a news conference and tell the world that the Americans were going to the moon. This was a very risky decision for his reputation, because technically there was no way forward. The technology did not exist and it had never been done before. He needed to make a decision, so he went to the most brilliant aerospace engineer in America and asked him what it would take to go to the moon. The engineer responded with five words: The will to do it. The rest was history after that. What is it going to take to heal the trauma and division? What is it going to take to bring Canadians together again? What is it going to take to unite this country? It will take the will to do it. It will take courage and conviction. The will to do it will deliver the glorious and free Canada that we all rightfully deserve. I, for one, will work day and night to deliver that to my constituents and all Canadians.

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Mr. Taleeb Noormohamed (Vancouver Granville, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 5:04:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her speech and for our ongoing wonderful working relationship in committee. The member spoke about the importance of vaccination and the value it has provided us in a path toward freedom, as she refers to it. She also expressed some other concerns. Could the member share with the House how she reconciles the views that folks have right now about not getting vaccinated with the fact that we have mandatory vaccination for children in many provinces across the country in order for them to attend school?

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Ms. Raquel Dancho

Feb/1/22 5:04:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have enjoyed working with the member. We are setting some really important issues right now. Over the last two years, particularly since the Prime Minister called the unnecessary $600-million election that further divided Canadians, I have been concerned, as I am sure he has been as well, about the hatred from all sides. There is not nearly enough communication. I think it was a recent poll that said 20% of Canadians think unvaccinated people should go to jail. We are pushing this so far. I am seeing it. I have been door knocking for years, and during the election I saw so much hate, so much division and lots of tears. I appreciate the member's question, but I would say that we need to move forward and recognize we have done an astounding job. We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and we need to move forward.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Feb/1/22 5:06:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to talk again about the care economy and elevating the traditional work that belonged to women for many years. If the needed investments in health care transfers had been increased instead of cut by the Conservatives and then not restored by the Liberals, we would have had a stronger health support system to support COVID alongside cancer and pediatric surgeries, which cannot be done right now. If we do not invest in the care economy in a way that increases health care transfers, as the premiers are asking for, we will not be able to weather any other health crises. Do the Conservatives support greater health care transfers to the provinces?

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Ms. Raquel Dancho

Feb/1/22 5:06:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member on her first election. Absolutely, I do. As I mentioned in my speech, we need more investment in health care and we need transformative change. We need to be looking at best practices around the world. We are seeing other countries with far better surge capacity than we have in Canada. As I said, this is not the last pandemic and this is not the last wave. We need to prepare our health care system to have that surge capacity so that we do not need to do what has been done to people for the last two years and so that governments can no longer default to telling people they have to stay home for two years because our health care system cannot work. I do not want to hear that excuse anymore. I want to see transformative change so that we can usher in an era of health care that truly supports everyone. No more eight-hour ER wait times. No more waiting two years for a hip replacement. No more shutting down the economy because we cannot handle a surge. We need to build a robust health care system.

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