SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Sep/26/22 9:37:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people on the east coast are suffering, and I was glad to hear comments from all members in this House committing to supporting Atlantic Canadians in the coming weeks. I also want us to start thinking about the future. These extreme weather events are happening more frequently and with more severity. I am concerned that the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund right now is completely inadequate. It does not come close to meeting the needs of communities and municipalities that need to fix critical infrastructure and build resilience in the face of climate disaster. Will the member commit to pushing his government to ensure that this fund is adequate to meet the needs of this changing climate?

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Sep/26/22 10:03:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his words in solidarity with Atlantic Canadians and about the resilience and strength of communities across the east coast. I was surprised by some of the member's comments about climate change. I was surprised when the Leader of the Opposition did not mention climate change or the climate crisis in his speech tonight. I am curious if the member was implying that he does not think climate change and the climate crisis are a driving cause for the increased severity and increased frequency of hurricanes and extreme weather events.

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Sep/26/22 10:33:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her words about community members coming together to help one another and neighbours helping neighbours. That is really the spirit of Atlantic Canada. It reminded me of when I was in Halifax during hurricane Juan. My neighbours had a tree go through their house, and we went over to help them. Our other neighbours came over with a barbeque so we could use the rest of the food that was in our freezer, which had thawed. This is so critical, and I am so glad that members of very party in the House are committed to giving support immediately. As mentioned a number of times, we also need to look forward. It has been shown again and again that investing upfront in resilience costs way less than having to clean up in the aftermath of natural disasters. Can the member speak about the importance of proactively investing in climate resilience to ensure that communities are prepared for natural disasters in the future?

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Sep/26/22 10:49:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to serve with the member for Charlottetown on the Standing Committee on Health, and I appreciate his actions there. One of the things that certainly holds true, as we have heard from most of the Atlantic provinces today, and it is always interesting to hear, is how similar we are and how the great resilience of the people from Atlantic Canada certainly stands out in all of our minds. As I said previously, hopefully it is not just us patting ourselves on the back. That being said, I think it is important to underscore, and I think we are all at the point that we need to realize, that cellphone service is part of critical infrastructure. We also know, and we have heard in this House previously, that former minister Ralph Goodale promised during Dorian that the CRTC would fix this. We know that has not happened. I wonder how the member opposite is going to prod his government to ensure that this piece of critical infrastructure is better suited to serving the needs of all of our constituents.

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