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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 31

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 31 - Feb/15/22
Mr. Mario Simard (Jonquière, BQ)
  • Feb/15/22 12:20:46 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-12 
Mr. Speaker, I really like my colleague from Winnipeg North. Unfortunately, he has been known to engage in overblown rhetoric. I think he has a reputation for that in the House. In his speech, he admonished the opposition at length by saying that our Conservative colleagues often engage in political partisanship, and he presented himself as a great defender of seniors. However, since I arrived here in 2019, my political party has repeatedly made three very simple proposals, as follows: increasing the old age security benefit by $110; increasing the guaranteed income supplement by $50 for single people and by $70 for couples; and, most importantly, increasing health transfers, because seniors are the ones who have paid the price for the underfunding of health care during the crisis. The government has never paid any attention to us. That is the perfect example of partisanship. Why? The government cannot seem to handle acting on a good idea from an opposition member because it would have to give that member the credit. If the Liberals care about seniors, why have they never increased the old age security benefit? Why have they never increased the GIS and why did they wait so long to address the issue before us today? I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.
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Context: House Hansard - 31 - Feb/15/22
Mr. Mark Gerretsen
  • Feb/15/22 5:02:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can cast light on that. As one of the only Liberals in the House, I physically sat in the House for five months last winter and spring. I saw the games being played in order to prevent legislation from going through. That was coupled with everything that had happened during the pandemic. I have no problem saying that I felt that it was time for Canadians to weigh in on this and see where they were with it. I would never accuse the member in particular of doing this, but I understand that it is a very easy political argument to make. That is why we hear it from the Conservatives so much. I actually do not have a problem with letting the electorate weigh in and tell us how they think we are doing, especially after the amount of money that had been spent on the pandemic and what had happened during the pandemic. To let the public weigh in is to give them their voice. I think they told us what they thought through their votes, and we are back here in the House to continue acting on their behalf as a result of that.
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Context: House Hansard - 31 - Feb/15/22
Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)
  • Feb/15/22 7:45:36 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-12 
Mr. Speaker, the member referenced that some people in the House only want to play political games, to use his words. It sounds like he feels the parliamentary process is a political game or that legislation going to committee is a political game. Does he feel that no legislation should be going to committee or only some legislation should be going to committee? What does he base that opinion on and what is the rationale for his thoughts on what should be going to committee?
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