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House Hansard - 206

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 5, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 206 - Jun/5/23
Mr. Arif Virani (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Lib.)
  • Jun/5/23 9:20:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what is important about what was outlined by the member opposite in his statement is that concerns about mental health are equally shared across all parties. However, what was not mentioned in the comments referenced by the member opposite is that part of what this budget includes is a formalization of an agreement that includes $190 billion in funding for health care and—
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Context: House Hansard - 206 - Jun/5/23
Mr. Arif Virani
  • Jun/5/23 9:20:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what I was saying is that the funding agreement with respect to health care is about $190 billion over the next 10 years. It is approximately $46 billion of new funding. One of the aspects of that funding includes certain conditional priorities, and one of those priorities is exactly what the member was referencing: access to timely, equitable and quality mental health, substance use and addiction services. I would just point that out, to flesh out the record in terms of the context of this debate. The member's party is steadfastly committed to voting against this budget. This budget includes $158.4 million over three years to support the implementation and operation of a 988 number that would be a suicide hotline in this country, which would serve the mental health needs of Canadians. Does the member seek to revise his voting position in that regard?
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Context: House Hansard - 206 - Jun/5/23
Ms. Kristina Michaud
  • Jun/5/23 11:38:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. I was watching the news on the weekend and the woman who does the weather. She spoke about the air quality in certain regions. I thought to myself that it was not normal to be speaking about that. Is that the new normal? Will the weather forecast now be about the rain, the sunshine and the air quality? This has a huge impact on people and human health. Scientists have been saying so for a long time. Climate inaction will be more costly in the long term. The costs to human health will be enormous. I was saying earlier that this may not be the time to talk about causes or point fingers, but I believe that we have a lot of work to do. We must do more and we must do better, especially when it comes to climate change. The fact that we are already at adaptation and mitigation is not a good sign.
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