44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/15/23 2:31:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the territories, the provinces and Quebec asked for $28 billion a year for health care, but they got $4.6 billion. I fully understand that they did not have a choice. It was that or nothing.
To rebuild a decent health care system, reduce emergency room and surgical wait times, and help people grappling with mental health issues, the provinces asked for $28 billion. My question is simple: Is $4.6 billion enough?
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- Feb/15/23 2:34:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe that all one should need to get health care is a health card, not a credit card. Canadians are proud of this system, and they should be. Our discussions with the premiers included the importance of upholding the Canada Health Act, which means making sure services are based on need and not someone's ability to pay.
We will always protect Canadians' equitable access to universal public health care services, because the role of Canada's Minister of Health is to ensure the Canada Health Act is respected.
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- Feb/15/23 2:34:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government really wants to defend public health care, it should stop American-style health care from entering our country.
The facts are clear. Thousands of people are paying thousands of dollars to have operations. This is clearly against the law. Their former health minister said so herself.
The government has a choice: Will it let American-style health care continue, or will it stop it?
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- Feb/15/23 2:35:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree. We believe that all one should need to get health care in Canada is a health card, not a credit card.
Canadians are proud of our system, which is based on need, not ability to pay. Canadians should have access to medical services based on their need, not their ability to pay.
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- Feb/15/23 2:51:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, invoking mental health is something that we should consider at all moments, but I will tell everyone what does not help mental health when the world is going through something as difficult as it is. It is to expand people's fears, to increase people's anxieties. The party opposite refuses to offer solutions. All it offers is fearmongering and pretending that Canada is an island alone while it goes through what the world is suffering.
That is not reality. That is not truth, and it certainly does not help those who are suffering from mental illness.
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada just signed off on an agreement of over $196 billion over the next 10 years. That is there to support the Canada Health Act. Mental health is a part of the Canada Health Act, from my perspective and in the minds of many, because mental health is, in fact, health, just like breaking a leg is a health issue.
I suspect we will have to make sure there is a high sense of accountability to ensure that the provinces treat it accordingly.
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Madam Speaker, virtually all medical health experts contend that mental illness is not irremediable. Why the delay for a year? What is going to change in this next year that should not be dealt with right now?
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Madam Speaker, there is one issue that has been raised many times in the House, and that is the issue of mental health. To date, the government has refused to make the investments needed to help people and to ensure that all Canadians who need mental health care receive it. This is not happening right now because of the lack of funding and resources.
I want to know what my colleague thinks of the government's mental health funding. Is it not important to make investments so that people will always have options when it comes to mental health?
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Madam Speaker, I am quite concerned about the way my colleague has framed this issue. The issue of MAID for mental health as the sole underlying condition was resolved two years ago. An expert panel reported in the middle of last year with some recommendations. There has also been extensive work by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, which that was tabled today, and I think all of the evidence suggests that we are ready to move forward on MAID for mental health as the sole underlying condition, however there is a need to ensure that additional safeguards are in place.
I am wondering if my friend could comment on the role of the expert panel and its recommendations in this regard.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Nunavut always reminds us how important it is to make sure that in all of our consultations, no matter what the issue is, whether it is climate change, indigenous early learning, or mental health and health care in indigenous communities, the indigenous lens on health care must be included.
Communities handle the care of their loved ones differently. There are diagnostic tools that are available from many different backgrounds and communities that weigh in on such decisions that we make as a country. I would welcome the member sharing her thoughts with me on what we should be considering in that discussion.
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Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. Canada is facing huge challenges right now with respect to mental health. We should double down on this and make mental illness a priority, because it is affecting hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
There are plenty of ways to add more resources to our health care system. The government could speed up the approval process for certain drugs. We can all be more open to new ways of thinking, working and living in society that would alleviate this problem. Let us hope the government will see it and show a little leadership on things like that.
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I will stop banging on my desk, Madam Speaker, but I am not going to stop banging on my desk in my office or on doors across Canada. We need to stop this. This is not a Canadian approach to health care. We do not offer suicide to people suffering from mental health disorders.
We have 12 months to get this right, and as the last member said, I do not think that health care is going to improve. Our system is way too broken to be fixed in 12 months. He knows it, I know it and everyone here knows it. What are we setting ourselves up for? I would tell all members or anyone watching that as much as this is an emotional and very heated debate, and we need to respect other people's opinions, we also need to have this dialogue.
I would encourage people watching at home to contact their members of Parliament in a respectful way, ask for a meeting and explain their concerns. I suspect a lot of them will have concerns similar to mine on why we should not expand this. They should do it in a respectful manner. I believe there are enough good people in this chamber to stop it. That is my message.
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Madam Speaker, the member's question will give me an opportunity to once again underline what the member is trying to get at, which is that this is wrong. Leadership is not just putting something to the courts and following a ruling. On this one, the courts were not even asking for mental health to be a factor in MAID.
Maybe this is the point where backbenchers and other parties, cabinet ministers or MPs can take these 12 months to consider all the arguments, for and against. I have a very tough time with including mental health. I do not think there is a single honest, good reason why someone should access MAID because of depression or other serious mental health issues.
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Madam Speaker, my understanding of mental health, the DSM, a lot of the mental health disorders and how they are diagnosed or rated is that there is a system where we ask the patient how they feel, on a scale of 1 to 10, in different categories. We kind of gauge where they are, and we have an understanding of the disorder or the mental health issue that they are facing. It is very subjective and difficult. It is not like they can do a blood test to find out if someone is positive or negative, or that there are other physical ailments that can actually be measured to understand that the person is not going to recover from them.
Mental health is different. There are also advances. This is the thing that should give hope. There are medical advancements that are treating people whom we never thought we could treat before, and a lot of that has to do with mental health. There are chances now that we can revisit some of these diseases and disorders with modern pharmaceutical solutions or therapies that have not been tried before in the western world. That is where we have to spend our energy.
We also have to put those extra resources into health care. That means a larger transfer. That means the Liberals' coming through on their $4.5-billion promise for health care in the last election. They have yet to deliver a single penny on it.
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