44th Parl. 1st Sess.

February 16, 2023 10:00AM

Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23

Feb/16/23 4:44:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on this motion. I am sorry we have hurt the feelings of the Liberals here. Here they are back to blaming the NDP. We probably took his parking spot in the morning, let his dog out of the yard and everything else he can blame on the NDP. However, we cannot be blamed by the Prime Minister, who goes out at an election and says one thing and then later on says something else, when it is time to put the mettle to the test. It is not our fault that the Prime Minister misleads the public during the voting process and then later on says something else to the premier of Ontario. That is not my fault. I do not control what the Prime Minister says, whether it is during an election or in a private meeting with Premier Ford. This is the reality. Let me read what they are upset about here. The motion says, “express disappointment that the prime minister has promoted Ontario’s for-profit health plans as 'innovation”. The phrase “express disappointment” is an outrage. That is ridiculous. We have health care. As we have noted, Tommy Douglas, Canada's greatest Canadian, fought tooth and nail, and actually reversed the move from the private sector to public health care. Where I come from, two miles across the river, I see the difference in the American system, where there are people on the street who cannot get any help. I know people who have actually lost their homes because they had to choose between health care for their children versus a home for themselves. That is a normal process that takes place in the United States. On top of that, we have lost lots of jobs in the past because we have not been the nation that has had an auto strategy or an aerospace strategy. At the same time, what has kept our footprint has been our health care system, against U.S. massive subsidies and tax reductions to some of these profiting corporations. What has taken place is that health care is not only a philosophical element that is important for our culture and the wellness of individuals and rights of a citizen here. It is actually a loss leader, in many respects, that builds innovation, protects our economy and brings in far more investment than it costs. On top of that, we have a far more productive society. That is very important to calculate because people can get the help that they need not only at a time of crisis, but also when they are only partially hurt. It is critical, especially in a global market, when we are trying to attract different types of individuals to stay in this country, that one of the feature elements we have is health care. I can say this, after hearing from people at corporations over the years who have said that they have chosen to invest in Canada. As the industry critic for the NDP for 15 of my 20 years here, I can say how many conversations there have been, over and over, where they have said that, and that is one of the reasons. Child care and dental care are also important. Instead of what the Conservatives and Liberals have been doing over the last number of generations, lowering corporate taxes and hoping for investment, those investments actually go to people, and they control it. Therefore, when we do corporate tax reductions, often those profits are taken out of the country where they are taxed by other nations. They are not invested here because we know we do not get that investment. Whereas, when our subsidies go to the people, our neighbours, our family and our coworkers, not only are we stronger as an economy, but we are also stronger in the international competition for jobs. It is crucial for manufacturing. Let us look at the type of things we have done over the years. Even right now, a thousand Canadians die at the workplace per year. I come from a place where industrial diseases through working with chemicals and toxins, and where workers losing limbs in manufacturing, are part of the normal process. Having a public health care system is crucial for innovation, maintaining jobs and putting people back in the workplace. I used to work as an employment specialist for persons with disabilities. I can say right now that it is atrocious that persons with disabilities, of those who are just looking for work, have an unemployment rate of over 50%. Having a public health care system and not a private one, for those who are destitute or who do not have the type of income needed from their job, is crucial for them to stay in the workplace and pay taxes. The creeping privatization we have disproportionately affects the working class, but on top of that, it will lose jobs for us. I cannot help what the Prime Minister does. I cannot help that he cozies up to Ford when he wants certain things. That is not the NDP's fault, but we have to call him out for what it is. That has been done in this chamber over the years, time after time, when the Liberals have said one thing and have done another. I remember that corporate tax cut reductions by many of their leaders, such as Stéphane Dion, were not fast and hard enough. There were corporate tax reductions over and over again. Paul Martin underinvested in health care, housing and all those structural features that were so important. They shift back and forth. They say one thing and are upset because they are getting called out on it. We would not be supportive if we did not make sure that the Prime Minister is accountable. This is clear in Ontario right now because, as we are fighting to restore and keep the auto industry, our primary attraction for that is health care. There is massive subsidization going on in the United States, from the state level and even from the Biden administration, and it is doing special subsidies. What we have for investment is a workforce that is not only going to be strong, trained and educated, but also healthy. That health element will ensure that we are going to continue with innovation and pay more taxes. That is why we have unions that have fought for safer workplaces. Unions are fighting for pensions for others. Unions are fighting for safer workplaces for others. I think of Local 200. I think of Local 444 with Stellantis in the Windsor assembly plant. I think of Local 195, which makes parts. They fight for other workers because they do that for the benefit of all. They know that, when they sit down at the collective bargaining table, those employers, many of them international employers who are looking to screw the workers over in some respects, are going to have the health care system they need. They will have that as a backup for their negotiations. The health care system is something crucial, not only to individuals collectively as a culture, but also our economy, because our economy contributes all the resources back just because we have our health care.

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House Hansard - 162