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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 182

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 21, 2023 10:00AM
  • Apr/21/23 11:20:30 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is spending $21 billion more on the public service than when he took office. It takes a special kind of incompetence to spend 50% more on the bureaucracy but to give Canadians worse service, with 150,000 workers out on strike, the largest public sector strike in 40 years. How will the Prime Minister fix the government and the public service that he has broken?
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  • Apr/21/23 11:20:59 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our public servants and the Public Service Alliance of Canada provide valuable services that are important to Canadians. The government certainly values their work. We are committed to reaching an agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada that is fair to government employees and also reasonable for Canadians. There is a competitive deal on the table, and I am really proud to say that both parties are continuing to negotiate in good faith. Canadians expect both parties to reach an agreement.
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  • Apr/21/23 12:42:56 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-47 
Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my colleague from Joliette, with whom I have worked for many years now on tax fairness, trying to make sure that those who are not paying their fair share do pay their fair share. I want to talk about mental health fairness, especially for first responders and military veterans in our country. I got a message from Blair Meadows, who is a veteran and a strong volunteer and committed citizen at the Qualicum Beach Legion, in my riding. He talked about the important costs associated with PTSD service dogs for military police and first responders and that they need to be fully covered by the federal government, including training, maintenance and aftercare. As Mr. Meadows has pointed out, “These dogs are part of our medical care and well-being. Personally, my service dog saved my life and you can't put a price on that.” Others have said similar things. These dogs save lives. When it comes to the people who put their lives on the line for our freedom and democracy, who put the sacrifice on, the government has a duty to ensure that the costs associated with these dogs are covered. It actually saves our health care system money. I know this is an issue for my good colleague from North Island—Powell River, which hopefully should be North Island—qathet if she gets her way with the electoral boundary commission, which she should, in the future. I would like to say to my colleague that this was not in the budget. We saw the Conservatives cut a third of Veterans Affairs when it was under their watch. The government has failed to deliver the critical services that Blair Meadows and many other veterans and first responders need. Does my colleague agree that this should be covered and that it actually saves money when it comes to the mental health care system in our country?
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