44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2024 02:00PM
- May/29/24 11:14:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would say that our health care system has always been iterative. We have built it out a piece at a time. However, one of the most frustrating things for me, as health minister, is to go to different parts of the country and hear stories of things that we could do on a preventative basis and are not doing. I mean, we could talk about Iqaluit. I was up talking with Inuit leaders about tuberculosis outbreaks there. There are things that we still have happening—
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- May/29/24 11:15:18 p.m.
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- May/29/24 11:15:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would love to continue that conversation with the minister.
As the minister knows, Canada also has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with more than 90,000 Canadians living with this disease. Of course, while the cause is still unknown, emerging research has highlighted the potential for significant advancements in the prevention of MS.
I have heard directly from constituents that they want to see the Government of Canada commit $15 million to fund MS research in partnership with MS Canada, focusing on prevention, repair and regeneration.
I understand that the minister also met with MS Canada earlier this month. Can he share what it will take for the government to commit these funds?
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- May/29/24 11:16:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am extremely happy to see that, in the last budget, we responded to the Bouchard report and will be putting major money into research. I think it is $2.5 billion, generally a very significant portion for health research. Through the Canadian Institute for Health Research, we funded an enormous amount of research into MS.
The member is absolutely right: Canada is a leader, unfortunately, when it comes to MS, so we also need to be a leader in research. When I look at these investments, I certainly hope that this independent agency will be taking a look at these requests and deepening our commitments in research. However, those dollars in the budget are absolutely essential to that end.
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- May/29/24 11:16:42 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I appreciate the minister for meeting with representatives from MS Canada. It is best that he hear from them directly rather than from me, but it also good to know that there are parliamentarians on all sides who are keen to see the investment made potentially, for example, in the next fall economic statement.
I would like to turn to a question for the Minister of Mental Health.
There are two local mental health service providers in my community, Thresholds and the CMHA Waterloo Wellington, which have been struggling for months to secure funding for a mental health emergency room to provide appropriate care for people in crisis and to alleviate the strain on overcrowded emergency rooms. There has not been government funding available, so they have had to open this summer using their own budgets, and they have about three months' worth of staffing support available to demonstrate how critical the support is. Of course the provincial government also needs to step up.
Given the urgency and the critical need for this kind of facility, I would like to hear what the minister believes are the immediate actions the federal government could take to support these kinds of local initiatives and ensure that people in crisis have access to the care they need without overburdening the emergency rooms.
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- May/29/24 11:18:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I know that the member is such a staunch advocate for mental health and for helping those who use substances in our communities.
I do not think there is a quick fix to getting our health systems to incorporate mental health in the full spectrum of care. That is why we are taking an integrated approach through the bilateral agreements. As I mentioned earlier in the evening, just for example, in Ontario, $700 million of its $3.1 billion bilateral agreement is going toward mental health and substance use.
We have to move the needle. We are not there yet. Community service organizations have been the bedrock of providing mental health services in the gap that we see across jurisdictions. That being said, this is exactly why programs like the youth mental health fund are being put into place in budget 2024, but there are no quick fixes.
We are moving mental health into the health care systems. We are seeing, for the first time ever, that there are mental health ministers in nearly every jurisdiction across this country, which shows us that there is a prioritization to work collaboratively. I am happy to meet with the member to talk about what is going on in his own community with regard to the CMHA. Local CMHAs do terrific work, and I would be happy to discuss.
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- May/29/24 11:19:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, today the minister stood by her failed decriminalization project in British Columbia after being forced to walk it back. Last week, she voted against ruling out the expansion of drug decriminalization everywhere else in Canada. Will the minister unequivocally commit today to never expanding her insane decriminalization policy from B.C. to anywhere else?
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- May/29/24 11:20:02 p.m.
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Sadly, Madam Chair, I have to say again that the stigmatized language from the other side of the House is highly disturbing.
Decriminalization is one tool of many in addressing the overdose crisis. It exists in jurisdictions around the world, such as Switzerland, Portugal and Spain, and we know it is an important tool that we need to use. I really wish the member would look at the evidence and the facts rather than use rhetoric.
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- May/29/24 11:20:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the failed experiment in British Columbia was walked back by the minister herself after she was forced to do it due to a request from B.C. because of so many deaths. Will she rule it out for her own city, in Toronto?
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- May/29/24 11:20:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as the member well knows, we have said no to the Toronto proposal. Again, she seems to ignore the many stakeholders and evidence supporting a full use of tools to address the overdose crisis. People are dying because of street drugs; they are not dying because of decriminalization.
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- May/29/24 11:21:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, will the minister say no to Toronto forever?
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- May/29/24 11:21:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we do not deal with hypotheticals on this side of the House; we deal with facts. I wish the member would actually engage in an evidence-based conversation on what a comprehensive strategy to addressing the overdose crisis looks like.
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- May/29/24 11:21:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is not a hypothetical; it is a yes or no question. Will the minister rule out decriminalization for Toronto going forward?
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- May/29/24 11:21:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the member is misleading Canadians. The proposal has already been rejected. There is no new application on the books, and we do not deal with what-ifs and what-abouts. We deal—
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- May/29/24 11:21:58 p.m.
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The hon. member for Thornhill.
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- May/29/24 11:22:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a very simple question. The people of Toronto have watched crack being smoked in hospitals and people shooting up in parks, next to children.
Will the minister say no to decriminalization in Toronto going forward? It is a yes or no question.
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- May/29/24 11:22:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the current proposal was rejected.
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- May/29/24 11:22:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a yes or no question. Yes or no, will the minister rule out decriminalization for Toronto, for Montreal and for Halifax? I will even expand the question for her.
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- May/29/24 11:22:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there are currently no proposals put before Health Canada for those jurisdictions.
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- May/29/24 11:22:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are aware that the proposal from Toronto was rejected.
If the Liberals win the next election, will the minister commit to never decriminalizing illegal drugs in Toronto?
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