44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2023 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, I find it interesting that in the calls I have taken specifically over the last eight months or so, it seems there has been a real pickup in the number of seniors, single parents and women endeavouring to get out of difficult situations who, when going to the grocery store, are not able to afford the bare minimum that it takes to feed themselves and often their families.
We need to make sure we have a compassionate approach to welfare in this country to ensure that the most vulnerable get support. We also need to make sure that every opportunity for Canadians to succeed is granted to them. I often see in this place that this is being denied to Canadians. I see that in my own constituency.
The member has supported the shutdown and loss of tens of thousands of jobs in my constituency. Let us take a pause, and instead of promoting plans that would worsen the economic circumstances for many Canadians, like those promoted through the just transition the Prime Minister is pushing for, let us make sure we provide hope and opportunity for absolutely every Canadian. Let us make sure we are there to support those who need help when they need it most.
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- Feb/13/23 10:24:07 p.m.
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Resuming debate.
There being no further members rising for debate, pursuant to order made earlier today, the debate is deemed adjourned and the House is deemed adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 10:24 p.m.)
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Madam Speaker, just over a year ago we had an election campaign, and in the Liberal platform there was nothing about the extension of medical assistance in dying for people with mental illness. What there was in the Liberal platform was a very clear promise to fund a Canada mental health transfer, $4.5 billion over five years, of which it is very clearly laid out, and I think it is on page 75 in the costing document, that by now almost $1 billion was to have been transferred already. We have not seen a cent of that almost $1 billion that was to have been transferred.
I wonder if the hon. member could speak to that disconnect that has a Liberal government that is not fulfilling its own promise to properly fund mental health but instead has moved forward and now is needing to pause, having moved forward on extending medical assistance in dying to people with mental illness.
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Madam Speaker, I partially answered that question in my speech. I am voting in favour of Bill C-39, which will provide for an extension of one year. I think the government needs to sit back, take a pause and listen to what the experts and Canadians are saying. Is this legislation they really want? Is it something we should move forward with?
I hope the government takes the time to reflect on this. Based on the comments the Minister of Justice has made in this House and in the media, I am not optimistic that he is going to do that. I think for him this is a one-year delay of his plan of implementation to provide MAID to people who are suffering with mental illness. I hope he takes the time, together with his party, to re-evaluate moving ahead with this legislation. In fact, I hope they stop it, because it is wrong.
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Madam Speaker, when we were looking at Bill C-14 two Parliaments ago, there was a statutory requirement for a review. The government went ahead and introduced Bill C-7 before we ever did that review. It accepted the Senate amendment to its bill before it established the special joint committee, of which I was a member, both in the previous Parliament and in this one. We struggled with many of the issues the member highlighted in his speech. Two of the themes we were grappling with as a committee were respect for individual autonomy versus protection of the vulnerable.
I share the member's concerns with this. How, in his mind, do we try to rectify those two concepts, so that we are respecting a person's autonomy to make decisions that are in their own interest but also making sure that we as a society are protecting the most vulnerable?
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague. When those numbers went from 1,000 per year to 37,000 Canadians accessing MAID, that was a severe red flag that this has gone much too far. All of us have loved ones who are impacted by mental illness or disability. This certainly hits home for all of us.
I would say that my suggestion would be not to put a timeline on this. We are putting this off for one year. My concern is that the Minister of Justice certainly does not agree with most of us in the House. He said it himself, that the government could just plow ahead and go ahead with this legislation without any additional discussion. I think that is a wrong decision. We are certainly hearing from our constituents and from Canadians that this has gone far enough.
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- Feb/13/23 6:34:45 p.m.
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I have been quite generous with the time I have given the hon. member. We have gone way beyond it.
Questions and comments, the hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for that really good question.
On the surface, it might appear as though we are not supporting the people he made reference to, who need the help I spoke about in my speech. However, that is not the case. What we want to do is give people their freedom back, like the freedom to make choices, which the Liberal-NDP coalition has taken away from them. We want to give people back the freedom to pay for gas and buy the food they require for their children, rather than relying on food banks and skipping meals. We want to give people their lives and their freedom back, which would be a huge asset to their mental health. That is why we as Conservatives have been opposing the reckless spending of the Liberal government.
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- Feb/13/23 9:49:11 p.m.
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The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan does not have the floor and he is not the one who will be responding to the questions and comments. I know that his colleague for Foothills is able to answer those questions.
The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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- Feb/13/23 9:34:18 p.m.
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The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.
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- Feb/13/23 9:38:01 p.m.
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That was not quite a short question, but if the hon. member could give a short answer, that would be great.
The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.
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Madam Speaker, the truth of the matter is that the minister has shown his hand. He has no intention of not making this law come into effect. That is where Canadians have drawn the line.
The reason they have stalled is because they realize they are not reflecting the values and the desires of the majority of Canadians. For once, I would love to see the Liberals function as a government on behalf of Canadians.
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- Feb/13/23 8:52:56 p.m.
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I have allowed two questions and two answers throughout the question and comment portion, and I want to make sure that we try to keep ourselves brief so that other members can participate in the debate.
Resuming debate, the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a debate for the provinces. It falls under the issue of health care funding, which, as we know, is a provincial responsibility.
I will let the provincial legislatures debate the ongoing funding for medical assistance in dying, especially for palliative care.
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Mr. Speaker, certainly I agree that there needs to be more investment in palliative care and it is a very important aspect of our society. Today, we are talking about mental health and MAID. We know that one of the pillars of recovery from mental illness is a financial pillar: the ability to have a house, to buy food and to get access to medication and supports. Does the member feel that a guaranteed livable basic income is something that could alleviate suffering in the wake of the mental health crisis in this country?
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Madam Speaker, it is somewhat offensive to even give an impression that we want death on demand, or that any member of the House of Commons would want death on demand. That is really quite an extreme statement.
As a government, we have invested an immense amount of resources towards mental health, far more than previous governments.
I do want to address one issue. When an agent of veterans affairs, a civil servant made that recommendation, I think it greatly offended every member of the House of Commons. My understanding is that that person is no longer talking to veterans.
I am wondering if the member would provide this clarification. Would she not agree, whether it is a veterans' agent or individuals who do not have the authority to even deal with the issue of MAID, they should not be recommending, in any circumstances, that MAID be—
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Dufferin—Caledon for being extremely open and honest about his own experience of deep pain and darkness. I also want to keep everything with respect to this issue as non-partisan as possible.
We have a year. Bill C-39 is going to pass. I have not heard any souls in this place say they are not going to vote for it. What do we do in the coming year? What would the hon. member recommend?
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Mr. Speaker, the member said they do not want to make it political, but then talked about a former prime minister, spending and other things. I am not making it political. I am reading the words from a psychiatrist who has more experience than the member, or any member of the government, will ever have on this issue. He is outlining a litany of concerns and how they went down the wrong path on this.
If their investments in health care have been so incredible, why are the premiers screaming that health care is in a terrible state of disarray? That happened under his government. If it is spending more money, it is not doing it well. That is the problem.
It is not political. I am begging the government to get it right on behalf of Canadians who suffer from mental health issues. They need the help.
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