SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Jan/30/23 6:30:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today on our first day back in calendar 2023. I am returning to a question that I put to the hon. Minister of Environment on October 20, 2022. It is important to note the date because of the minister's response. My question cited the Liberal platform in the election of 2021, in which they promised to, “Establish and fully fund a Canada Water Agency in 2022”. It was also promised that they would, “Modernize the 50-year-old Canada Water Act”. The Minister of Environment responded with, “we are, in fact, working to create an independent water agency for Canada.” He said we needed to pursue this and then at the end of his response, he said, “we will have good news to announce to this House in the coming weeks.” That was October 20, 2022, and of course, it is true that the last week of January 2023 does fall within weeks after the answer that we received in October, but the nature of the minister's answer, I think it is fair to say, suggested something a bit sooner than some time next year and we are still waiting. We are now in a period of pre-budget work, and I think it is important to focus now on what the government must include in the budget if it is at all serious about creating a Canada water agency. I note particularly, and it was encouraging to me at the time, that the hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change used the word “independent” to refer to this agency. I want to cite that we have quite a lot of good, solid work being done in the NGO community by groups like Flow and others across Canada that work on water policy. There is a strong consensus that the Canada water agency must be independent of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, as well as the Department of Natural Resources. There is a strong call to have an officer of chief water security to work through interjurisdictional blockages and ensure that this country has strong water policy. We know we need to ensure that we have what we used to have in Canada, which was co-operation and shared work between provinces and the federal government, with the federal government in the lead, on programs to avoid flooding. Flood plain work was shared, anticipating the vulnerabilities of our water system to floods and making sure that we pay attention to water policy, particularly around our freshwater systems, like the Great Lakes or Lake Winnipeg. It is extraordinarily important that we rebuild the scientific capacity we once had in this country, which is now down to precious little compared to what was there when I worked in the Minister of Environment's office back in the eighties. We had a robust program, an inland waters directorate, near Hamilton. We had a very strong department with hundreds of people working. It has virtually disappeared. What happened to the “coming weeks”? What happened to the “good news”? When are we going to see an independent Canada water agency that is fully funded to at least $1 billion a year as promised in the platform?

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Mr. Terry Duguid (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 6:34:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's question and I appreciated as well the question she put to the minister on October 20 and I appreciated his response. I think the hon. member will agree that a clean and safe freshwater supply in Canada and freshwater systems from coast to coast to coast are essential to the well-being of Canadians and to the health and sustainability of the environment and the economy. Fresh water sustains life on earth. It supplies drinking water, grows food and supports ecosystems. From droughts to floods to deteriorating water quality, freshwater challenges are intensifying in this country due, in large part, to climate change. There are serious and costly impacts for Canadians and the environment. As part of the Government of Canada's commitment to protecting fresh water, budget 2022 provided $88.1 million over five years in new funding for Environment and Climate Change Canada, which includes $19.6 million in the 2022-23 budget to sustain the freshwater action plan and this is up for renewal. However, our funding efforts will now include cleanup efforts in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Winnipeg, Lake of the Woods, the Fraser River in my colleague's home province, the Saint John River, the Mackenzie River and Lake Simcoe; $43.5 million, starting in 2022-23, to create the new Canada water agency, which I will advise the hon. member, will be stood up soon, in the coming weeks; and $25 million over five years starting in 2022-23 for the Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario, to support freshwater science and research. Members will recall the Harper government tried to shutter that incredible global water resource, but our government is now funding it. Also, to the hon. member's point, we will be modernizing the Canada Water Act. As she mentioned, for 51 years it has been in place, almost unchanged, and indigenous communities and climate change will be front and centre in our considerations. In June 2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada published a “what we heard” report. We consulted from coast to coast to coast, we received some 2,700 submissions. We heard strong support for the enhanced availability of data to support decision-making at all levels and cutting-edge science to tackle freshwater challenges, including climate change impacts. In addition to public engagement, the Government of Canada has also engaged with the provinces, territories and indigenous peoples. The Canada water agency is an institution for our time. It will bring people together on the watershed and the landscapes of this country to better protect and manage our fresh water, which we are so blessed to have. Twenty per cent of the world's fresh water is in this beautiful country of ours.

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Ms. Elizabeth May

Jan/30/23 6:38:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague the parliamentary secretary has a very strong affinity for these issues, from working with him when we were both involved with the International Institute for Sustainable Development. I want to correct the record when I said “near Hamilton”. I cannot believe I forgot that the Inland Waters Directorate, when it was strong, was in Burlington, Ontario and did wonderful work. I am not comforted by what I have heard so far. Yes, we have the Experimental Lakes Area and it does great work and, yes, I am glad we stopped the Harper government from destroying it. However, the Canada water agency needs to be independent of other departments of government. It needs to be properly funded. We need to understand what is happening to our water. Even if we were not looking at a climate crisis, our approach to fresh water in this country has been pathetic for decades. We now are in a climate crisis, which is a water crisis, and the Canada water agency is urgently needed and must be properly funded.

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Mr. Terry Duguid

Jan/30/23 6:39:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would agree with many of the hon. member's points. The hon. member and I go back a long way, as she has alluded to. Again, I take many of her points and ultimately we will see much of that reflected when the Canada water agency is established. Just in closing, creating the Canada water agency presents a unique opportunity for Canada to work with provinces, territories, indigenous peoples, local authorities, scientists and others to strengthen collaboration and find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well managed. As I have said already, in my intervention today, we will be seeing some good news in the coming weeks.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Jan/30/23 6:40:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the course of the parliamentary break, we have all had an opportunity to talk to people in our communities and across the country, and it is clear that, after eight years of the Prime Minister's economic and social policies, many people are hurting. There are many people who are struggling in various ways, especially under the profound weight of inflation, and they are asking for all of us to look for solutions that empower them to have jobs and opportunity, and to see their tax dollars respected. At the same time, we are seeing continuing outrageous extravagance in spending from this government. While Canadians are struggling, the government has been spending so much more, not on helping Canadians, but on things that serve the government's interest, and enrich and empower its friends. I am asking a follow-up tonight on a question I asked earlier about spending $6,000 a night for a single hotel room. The government spent $6,000 a night on a single hotel room. We asked who stayed in that hotel room. There was some implication that it was the Prime Minister, but we do not know that for sure. I also mentioned in my question the $54 million spent on the development of an app, the ArriveCAN app, which did not work very well and did more to impede Canadians in their travel than actually facilitate the effective prevention of the transmission of COVID. In any event, if that was the piece of technology the situation called for, which I do not think it was, but if it was, it could have been developed much more quickly at a much lower price and probably be much more effective. However, we are seeing this trend in outrageous government spending on friends of the government, on external contractors, at a time when Canadians are suffering, which was the question I had asked earlier. Today, of course, what is big in the news is the fact that the government spent over $100 million in outsourced contracts to McKinsey and Company. I would remind members that McKinsey is managed by Dominic Barton, a close friend of the Prime Minister, and someone who is simultaneously chairing the Prime Minister's economic growth council. Effectively, Dominic Barton, as the head of McKinsey, is both an adviser to the government and a vendor for the government. With great fanfare, the Prime Minister said that he was only paid a dollar a year for his position leading the economic growth council. Only a dollar a year, but meanwhile we have over $100 million in outsourced contracts over the life of this government so far to McKinsey. We asked today what the exact amount of it was. The government would not provide that number, and it keeps going up every time. After eight years of this Prime Minister, Canadians are struggling economically. They are struggling under the weight of inflation, which the Governor of the Bank of Canada and the former Governor of the Bank of Canada all say is domestically caused. They are struggling under the weight of those policies. Meanwhile, we are seeing outrageous profligate spending on contracts to friends of the government going out to the McKinsey, $54 million for the ArriveCAN app and $6,000 a night for a hotel room. Therefore, I want to ask the parliamentary secretary this: How does he and other members of the government face their constituents, who are facing these challenges, and justify this kind of outrageous, unaccountable, nonsensical spending?

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Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 6:44:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, happy new year to you and to my friend from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. As was stated by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, our government makes every effort to ensure that spending on official trips is both responsible and transparent. The official Canadian delegation included former prime ministers and the Governor General. All members of this delegation stayed at the same hotel, which was uniquely able to accommodate the size of the delegation during levels of extremely high demand, as members can imagine. Literally the entire world was heading to England for the Queen's funeral at the time. I have not prepared exactitudes on any McKinsey things today, but I do know that there was at least one contract that was issued where McKinsey was tasked to find some savings in a government program and it found $350 million in savings and $178 million of that has been implemented to date. I can get more details. I was not prepared to discuss McKinsey tonight. I personally had the opportunity as well to connect with my own constituents over the holidays and know that household budgets are being stretched by increases in interest rates, higher rents and higher food prices. Many of these challenges are global challenges created by external stressors, which include lingering effects of the COVID pandemic and, of course, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. Impacts on the cost of food and energy have been especially significant. We do have some good news, however. While inflation is high, it has started to go down in Canada. Inflation was 8.1% in June and now is 6.3%. It is still high but it is heading in the right direction and it is lower than what we see in many of our peer economies. The United States still has inflation of 6.5%, the euro area of 9.2%, the United Kingdom of 10.5% and the OECD is also above 10% on average. While increased interest rates present their own burden, especially after rising from historic lows, private sector economists expect inflation to ease toward the 2% inflation target over the next two years. Canada's underlying economy is still very strong and that gives us the ability to help those who were most impacted by these challenges. In fact, Canada has created more than 659,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic and we have retained our AAA credit rating. We also have the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. However, inflation in Canada is still too high and Canadians need help to make ends meet. This is why we have provided targeted relief while ensuring that our measures do not further increase inflation. For example, we doubled the GST credit for 11 million Canadians who need it the most. This is a great example to start with, of course, because my friend opposite also voted and supported that particular measure. In addition, we launched the Canada dental benefit for children under 12 with family incomes below $90,000. This will allow up to 500,000 kids to get their teeth fixed. I am pleased to report tonight that 153,000 families have already utilized the program. This is in addition to our child care investments that were just being debated in this House. I am happy to report that just today it was announced that 12,700 $10-a-day child care spaces are now available in British Columbia with more spaces opening up every day across Canada. Despite these supports, our government is continuing to run a tight fiscal ship. As I stated previously, we are able to make these investments because we have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7. At the same time, we have committed to saving $9 billion from government spending through budget 2022. As Canadians are cutting back in their costs, it is prudent that our government do the same. We will do that. We will make life more affordable for all Canadians right across the country.

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Mr. Terry Beech

Jan/30/23 6:49:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians can count on us to continue supporting them while proceeding in a way that is fiscally responsible. In the months ahead as we prepare for the 2023 budget, Canadians can count on this government to continue to work hard to build an economy that works for everyone, to create good jobs and to make life more affordable both for Canadian workers but also for Canadian families.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Jan/30/23 6:49:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know Groundhog Day is not until Thursday, but it sure feels like it, because I keep having to drag the government in here at the end of the day to answer to Canadians on why it has not delivered on its mental health transfer. We have a system that is overburdened and stretched to the max. I just had the leader of the NDP in my riding. We went to a round table on seniors' health. We listened to the stresses on the system in long-term care, in the health care system, but we also heard from physicians, and members know that in their ridings physicians are saying that they do not have the supports when it comes to mental health and when it comes to social workers and psychotherapy, and this is causing a huge unnecessary burden on the health care system. It is backing up our ERs. We heard that directly from physicians. I met with the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, with the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, the Hupacasath and the Sechelt. At Sechelt they hosted a meeting, and they said their top priority is ensuring there are mental health supports. The New Democrats will kick and scream and drag the government back here every night, if we have to, until the transfer is delivered. We will use every tool in the tool box. The Liberals promised $4.5 billion of new money over five years to help support those with mental health issues. I not only heard from first nations, but I actually went into my own doctor's office and asked my doctor how it is impacting him in serving his clients and the overall community. He said that over 50% of the people who were coming to his office were having a health-related issue related to either mental health or substance use. He said that he cannot be a social worker. He said that people are leaving the field. He said nurses are leaving the field. Right now, in a health crisis, we need to do everything we can to take the pressure off those who need supports that are physical-related and ensure those who have mental health issues are getting supports that are mental health-related. Meanwhile, people are dying. I got a message from a good friend of mine who lost her son this week. She said we need treatment centres, not more police. We need investments in mental health supports. The government keeps promising it is going to deliver that. There was a joint report by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. They found that almost 35% of residents reported moderate to severe mental health concerns. Fewer than one in three people experiencing mental health issues were accessing services, and they said that financial constraints were a big part of that. As we know, we are potentially heading into a recession. People are struggling. Mental health issues are getting worse. Establishing the Canada mental health transfer was a key election promise. It was the second thing on the list in the mandate letter for the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. The government promised that $875 million would be transferred by 2023. There has not been a dollar of new money. What are we going to hear from the government members? They are going to pat themselves on the back from old money. They are not going to have delivered on the new money they promised. It has not happened. It is costing lives. People are dying, and it is unnecessary. The government needs to do the right thing. The Liberals are wastefully spending money instead of prioritizing the health of Canadians, taking pressure off our health care system and investing in mental health when Canadians need it the most.

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Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 6:53:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even though it is late, I want to thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni for giving me the opportunity to speak to this important matter and explain to the House what we are doing to support mental health and health care services for people who use substances. Mental health is health. This is why we have made historic investments to support mental health care and substance use care needs, including $5 billion over 10 years, to improve Canadians' access to mental health and substance use services, directly to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements. These agreements currently provide the provinces and territories with $600 million per year until 2027. That money helps expand access to mental health care, addiction services for youth, and integrated services for people with complex needs. It helps improve access to proven community mental health care models and culturally appropriate interventions linked to primary care services. Federal, provincial and territorial health and mental health ministers agree on the importance of promoting mental wellness and addressing gaps in mental health and addiction services and recovery. In November, the minister met her counterparts across the country to discuss these key points. Through these bilateral agreements, the FPT health and mental health ministers are working together to improve access to evidence-supported mental health and addiction services and supports for Canadians and their families. We also acted quickly to respond to the increased demand for mental health services and supports arising from the pandemic. Early on in the pandemic, we launched Wellness Together Canada to provide free, confidential mental health support online 24/7 to people across Canada in both official languages. Over 3.1 million people have accessed Wellness Together online, and the app has been downloaded over 35,000 times. Budget 2022 will provide $140 million for the Wellness Together Canada portal so it can continue to provide Canadians with tools and services to support their mental health and well-being. We recognize that some communities experienced a disproportionate impact on their mental health because of the pandemic. We are providing $100 million over three years to support projects that promote mental health and an additional $50 million over two years for mental health programs that support populations at high risk of experiencing pandemic-related trauma. In addition, budget 2022 will provide $227.6 million over two years to maintain trauma-informed, indigenous-led, culturally appropriate services to improve mental wellness and continue to implement distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies. However, we know more needs to be done to ensure Canadians can access the high quality mental health care and substance use services they need and deserve, both now and in the future. The Prime Minister will be meeting with premiers next week to ensure the sustainability of our health care system for years to come and that further investments deliver tangible, positive outcomes.

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Mr. Gord Johns

Jan/30/23 6:57:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like I said, we know Thursday is Groundhog Day, but the government decided today is Groundhog Day. We heard the same response and the same old thing. Liberals are patting themselves on the backs about money they promised from before and are spending, but look at the results. The results speak for themselves with overcrowded ERs and doctors having to do social work who need help. People are dying as a result of the government's inaction. It failed to deliver a dollar of the promised new money. I actually do not believe it is going to do it. The Prime Minister has directed his ministers to spend less money, and I think he is going to cut. The government has no intention of delivering on this transfer. It has been over a year and a half. The U.K. and France spend about 12% on mental health. We spend between 5% and 7%. It is time for the government to respond. It needs to answer to Canadians on why it has not delivered on this promise. I will be back. I will be back at every opportunity to hold them to account until they deliver the mental health supports people desperately need.

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Mrs. Élisabeth Brière

Jan/30/23 6:58:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to continuing to do everything we can to support the mental health of Canadians. As I noted earlier, in addition to a range of existing federal supports, provinces and territories are now receiving $600 million from the federal government to support mental health and substance use services on an annual basis, which will continue until 2027. We also know that much more needs to be done to ensure that Canadians have access to the mental health supports they need, and we are committed to providing additional federal funding to support these essential services. That is why the Prime Minister will be meeting with the premiers next week to work collaboratively with the provinces to ensure that the additional investments produce tangible, positive outcomes.

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The Deputy Speaker

Jan/30/23 6:59:41 p.m.
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The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 6:59 p.m.)

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

Jan/30/23 6:48:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. The Prime Minister has more than doubled the national debt in his eight years in office. The Prime Minister has run up more debt in these eight years than all of the previous prime ministers had up until that point. That is the reality of the legacy of the Prime Minister. That is causing inflation. It is causing Canadians to suffer. Of course, some other countries have pursued similar kinds of policies and they are experiencing the same challenges as a result. However, there is a better way. That is to control spending and focus on what is truly important to Canadians. Much of the growth in spending we have seen, as I talked about, has been to outside consultants. We have dramatic growth in the core public service but, at the same time, we have a government contracting out to consulting firms like McKinsey that it is personally close with for services that are supposed to be done in the core public service. That is driving inflation and driving paying Canadians' experience.

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