SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 45

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 24, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 45 - Mar/24/22
Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)
  • Mar/24/22 12:50:57 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, the member for St. Albert—Edmonton today spoke a lot during his speech about the obligations we have to Canadians and the freedoms that Canadians are entitled to. I want to read to him what Dr. Katharine Smart, who is the CMA president, had to say. She said, “While governments and Canadians are hoping to move past the pandemic, an exhausted, depleted health workforce is struggling to provide timely, necessary care to patients and make progress through a significant backlog of tests, surgeries and regular care.” My question for the member is this: What do we owe our health care professionals, who have stood on the front line and worked so hard? Do we not owe them that? Further, in addition to protecting our health care workers, I would ask the member whether or not he would be supportive of increasing the health transfers to provinces, as the premiers have all asked for, to 35%. Would he be supportive of that?
166 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 45 - Mar/24/22
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Mar/24/22 2:39:45 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, hardship is the right word. I was speaking yesterday with the Canadian Pharmacists Association, which represents another group of health care workers who have been at the front line and living very difficult times. Their personal mental stress has been heightened by COVID, as has the stress of their families when they go home after a day at work, the stress of their staff and the stress of the patients they have cared for, now for more than two years. This is an example of the hardship we have gone through. That is why we need to keep caring for each other.
104 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 45 - Mar/24/22
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Mar/24/22 2:44:43 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, that question gives me the opportunity to continue speaking about the hardships and stress many Canadians feel, including health care workers and obviously patients. We have seen, over the last two years, a backlog of surgeries approximately equal to 700,000 patients. Their families, friends and communities are affected by that backlog. Today, we still have about 4,000 people hospitalized. Those hospital beds are not available for other patients.
72 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border