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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 162

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 16, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)
  • Feb/16/23 11:40:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for sharing some of his experiences working as a family physician, and specifically what he has seen regarding the need for mental health supports for Canadians. I worked in mental health and addictions prior to becoming a member of Parliament, and I saw the impact on our mental health services of a two-tired system, a private-public system. I saw the many ways in which this system provided supports for those who had the funds and left behind those who did not. I am wondering if the member could share with us today whether he agrees that moving toward a privately funded health care system would exacerbate the exact problems we are seeing in our mental health systems. This is instead of moving forward to increase supports for Canadians in need.
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Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Ms. Jennifer O'Connell (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)
  • Feb/16/23 3:20:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with limited time left in my speech, I want to highlight a couple of key points. One is the need for this injection of investment of almost $200 billion to support our health care system. Where I left off was that constituents in my riding have spoken about these needs in terms of mental health supports, supports for stroke survivors, support for family doctors and specialists, investments in long-term care and reducing emergency room wait times. Constituents wrote to me about the need for all of these supports and also for supports for personal support workers. They also they spoke about transparency and accountability for these funds. This is incredibly important. It is why I am glad that, in these conversations with premiers and provinces and territories across the country, there are going to be action plans so that Canadians will be able to see what the plan is for using this funding. Then Canadians will be able to track that money, to see where it is being spent and whether it is effectively reducing wait times and supporting our health care sector. This accountability is something that Canadians across the country have been asking for. We want to be there as a support and a partner to get our health care system back on track, but we are going to do so while making sure Canadians know exactly where these funds are being spent.
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