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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 149

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 30, 2023 11:00AM
  • Jan/30/23 5:05:45 p.m.
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There are some side conversations or questions being asked, but it is not time yet. I want to remind members there will be 10 minutes for questions and comments, so there will be an opportunity to ask a lot of questions then. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:06:00 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, I think that was a legitimate question. The member from across the floor asked if I know the Conservatives' position. I actually have a sense of what they oppose because they have said that publicly, and I have made reference to that. The member's former leader, just so he knows, told him that, when he knocks on the door, he should tell his constituents that he does not like the Liberal plan. That was the former leader of the Conservative Party. The current leader has gone around boasting, as I indicated, that the former Harper government cancelled Liberal child care plans in the past. Do I know what the Conservative Party's position is on this, on child care? No, but in fairness, I do not think anyone knows what its policy is on child care. I suspect it has something to do with the trickle-down private sector. I do not know that, but it is my suspicion as they are quick to criticize. The implementation of what we saw in Quebec has achieved wonders. Think of it in terms of single parents, 90% of whom are women. That is why this is a very strong feminist policy. Think about a single mom who is not able to get into the workforce because of her inability to afford child care. That is a reality. No matter what the Conservative Party may want us to believe, that is an actual reality. There are people who have a difficult time being able to afford child care. With the Province of Quebec coming in with a program that made it affordable, at the end of the day thousands, not hundreds, of women were able to get into the workforce. That is because they were prepared to take a chance in that province. When I say thousands of women in Quebec, that is a very low estimate on my part. It could go into the tens of thousands, especially when factoring in the number of years. One could ultimately ask what the benefit to the mother or, on the odd occasion, the father, has been of being able to get out of the house, whether to volunteer, work or get additional educational opportunities, all of which could, in all likelihood, create better outcomes in terms of household income. There are tremendous opportunities created for the individual. Collectively, I would suggest, it is even greater for society. The benefits to the individual are many, but the benefits to society are even greater. With more people participating in the workforce, especially one that continues to grow, that helps all of us in society. There are more resources generating GDP. In other words, the economy benefits. There are literally tens of thousands of jobs out there. We are very dependent on, for example, immigration policies and international workers, because there are so many jobs out there. In many ways there are people in Canada who would like to be able to work, but for a number of reasons, and the financial affordability of child care is one of the primary ones, they are not able to do that. Let us imagine other families that have one parent working during the day and one working at night because they cannot afford child care. They are losing out on the opportunity of having more quality family time, if I can put it that way. There are many things in society that would benefit from recognizing the principles we are trying to put in place through this legislation. Having a Canada-wide system with a federal vision would benefit all Canadians. We need to recognize that there is a long-term funding component to the legislation. There is a national advisory council on early learning and child care that would be created. We need to recognize that we would have reporting from the minister to the public with regard to ongoing progress in this area. That shows an ongoing commitment to financing. Putting this into legislation would make taking it apart even more difficult, in particular for the Conservative Party. At the end of the day, we believe, as the New Democrats, the Bloc members and I believe the Greens do, that providing access, affordability, inclusivity and high-quality child care is in the nation's best interest, the parents' best interest and the child's best interest. By having this legislation, taking up the framework and continuing to work with provinces, territories and indigenous communities, we would ensure that child care and early learning become a reality for more people. To me, that is what this is all about. We want to ensure accessibility and that we have these opportunities, because by doing that, whether it is the child, the parent or society as a whole, we all collectively and individually benefit. I hope the Conservative Party will not try to give mixed messages, like saying they kind of like the legislation but will have 150 amendments during committee work. An hon. member: That is what this place is for. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Madam Speaker, it is about the principles. Do the Conservatives not support the principles? Hopefully we will find out.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:14:34 p.m.
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I want to remind members to wait until the hon. member is finished or until I indicate that he is done before they try to ask questions and make comments. Questions and comments, the hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:14:48 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. Before I begin, I want to recognize a constituent who recently passed away, Mrs. Kathie Lock. She was the secretary at my elementary school, and I graduated elementary school with her daughter. I wish her family all the best and want to express my condolences in this difficult time. May perpetual light shine upon her. The parliamentary secretary just spoke about the feminist Prime Minister. We only need to consult people like Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jane Philpott and others who have spoken out to find out whether that is actually the case. Does the parliamentary secretary support the fact that we should be supporting all parents, like my parents? My father was a shift worker and my mom was a homemaker. Will the parliamentary secretary commit here and now to supporting those people, not just people who work nine to five?
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  • Jan/30/23 5:15:52 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, I thought I was being very clear about the legislation and what it would do. It would put into law principles to ensure accessibility, affordability, inclusivity and high-quality child care and early learning. I truly believe that through the financial commitments this government has put in place and through working with provinces, territories and indigenous communities, we will make child care and early learning available for all.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:16:40 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, there was a joint meeting between the Prime Minister of Canada and Premier of Quebec on the issue of compensation. That is great, and we are happy, but why was this not included in the bill? The Prime Minister of Canada said that the federal government would continue to help Quebec, but what will actually happen in five years? Why can it not be written directly into the bill?
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  • Jan/30/23 5:17:14 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, as we try to figure out where the different political parties are on the principles of the legislation, hopefully it will pass sooner as opposed to later. I think a lot will depend on the Conservative Party's positioning on the legislation, but it will go to committee. The member might want to take up her question with the minister responsible for the legislation. I am sure that at the committee stage she will be able to get a more detailed answer than I would be able to provide her at this time.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:17:51 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, every parent should have access to quality, affordable child care when they need it. The Liberals promised national child care almost 30 years ago, and for decades families have been struggling to afford child care, struggling to find child care and sometimes paying more than their rent or mortgage to ensure their kids are taken care of. I am so glad to see both the current funding commitments and this legislation for the future. With the federal financial commitments, B.C. has been investing in reducing costs, creating more spaces and recruiting more early childhood educators. That is my home province. The member is from Manitoba, and Manitoba is the only province that has not seen an average reduction in child care fees. I am curious if the member agrees that we need to see stronger accountability measures so that we actually guarantee that families are going to see a reduction in costs.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:18:53 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, the short answer is that I am absolutely confident there will be a reduction in fees in the province of Manitoba. I could not say right offhand, but I would be very surprised if that was not the case. With regard to the Liberal Party and its history, unfortunately the first time we had agreements that were signed off for child care was back in Paul Martin—
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  • Jan/30/23 5:18:56 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
The first time you promised it was 1993. I was nine.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:19:25 p.m.
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Order. I want to remind the hon. member for Victoria that she had an opportunity to ask a question. If she has another one, she needs to wait for an opportunity to ask it. The hon. parliamentary secretary can finish off before I go to the next question.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:19:35 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, not only do we have agreements once again with all the provinces, territories and indigenous leaders, but now today we are debating principles and putting them into legislation to ensure we are going to have them for future generations.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:19:55 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, I hear calls around me of revisionist history. This is the history; I remember it like it was yesterday. On November 28, 2005, we had signed child care agreements from every province with the federal government, stickhandled, which is a good use of the term, by Ken Dryden, who was the minister at the time and a former hockey great. That was part of a package of things that had been accomplished, including a plan for Kyoto that would have gotten us very near our Kyoto targets. We could have avoided Fiona if November 28, 2005, had not happened. There was also the Kelowna Accord. This was all agreed to, and tragically my friend Jack Layton, whom I loved, decided it was better to bring down Paul Martin's minority government and turn the country over to Stephen Harper, and we lost child care. Martha Friendly, child care advocate, will back up every word I just said. We had been working together on it.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:20:55 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, I would like to extend my answer a bit beyond that to the current leader of the Conservative Party. I made reference to the fact that he boasted about the cancellation of child care programs, and I suspect those are some of the child care programs he was referring to when boasting. That is why we should all be concerned with regard to what I would suggest is a hidden agenda within the Conservative Party, which does not support the type of child care that I believe, and we in the Liberal caucus believe, Canadians want to see.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:21:35 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, when I met with residents, I met with women and heard positive feedback. They love the child care idea. We saw that, and there are stats out there. When women get into a second career and go back to the workforce—
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  • Jan/30/23 5:21:54 p.m.
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I want to ask the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands and I believe the hon. member for Victoria or the hon. member for London—Fanshawe, as there are some side conversations happening, to take them outside so that the hon. member for Brampton South can be heard. The hon. member for Brampton South.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:22:14 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, more women are getting back into the workforce and starting their second career. I am wondering if the hon. member can expand on how this bill supports economic growth and women who are going back to a second career. Can the member explain that?
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  • Jan/30/23 5:22:31 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, as I indicated earlier, within the Liberal caucus there is a great sense of accomplishment on this particular file. We understand that there is a lot more to do, but I can tell the member that when we reach out to our constituents and talk to some of the child care workers and some of the parents, there is a high sense of excitement. That is why I believe this is sound legislation that should be supported by all parties of the House. If we believe in the importance of accessibility, affordability, inclusivity and high-quality child care, then this is good legislation that will enshrine the principles of those things into law. We can then continue to work with our constituents to ensure that more jobs are created. Also, there is going to be more opportunity and more free time for people to get involved in the workforce, in volunteer work and in many other activities.
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  • Jan/30/23 5:23:37 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-35 
Madam Speaker, our colleague across the way made reference to a situation where one parent was working during the day and one at night, and somehow their plan made for a better quality of life. Does this $10-a-day day care apply when somebody is in the home, because people who work during the day have to sleep during the night and vice versa when we have a family with parents on double shifts?
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