So V ote

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

May/29/24 2:56:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nurses, hospital staff, patients and all Canadians should feel safe at work, in hospitals. Our government has invested billions of dollars in the health care system to ensure that Canadians have access to the best care possible. The difference between us and the Conservative Party is that, while they are trying to criminalize the most vulnerable members of our society who are battling drug addiction, we are rolling up our sleeves and working with all levels of government to resolve this crisis.

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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay (South Surrey—White Rock, CPC)

May/29/24 8:05:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my questions will all be for the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Does the minister agree that hospitals should be safe places where patient care is a priority?

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Hon. Ya'ara Saks (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)

May/29/24 8:05:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we all agree that hospitals should be a safe place where patients receive care.

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May/29/24 8:06:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all hospitals should be safe places for those who work there. We have passed legislation to protect health workers and provinces have the same responsibilities to regulate hospitals.

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May/29/24 8:06:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have passed legislation to ensure workplace safety, including for hospitals, that is regulated by the province. We have ensured there is legislation for health workers to be safe.

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May/29/24 8:07:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe all members agree that workplaces, including hospitals, should be safe.

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May/29/24 8:08:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, hospitals and law enforcement are under provincial jurisdiction to ensure safe workplaces. We, of course, support the enforcement of safe workplaces for health workers.

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May/29/24 8:08:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, does the minister confirm or deny that she granted an exemption to the province of B.C., at the request of that government, to allow these kinds of hard drugs to be used in public places, including hospitals.

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May/29/24 8:08:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer my question. Did she in fact grant an exemption at the request of the B.C. government that allowed for hard drug use, unprescribed and unsupervised, in hospitals in British Columbia?

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May/29/24 8:09:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when did the minister sign the exemption that allowed for hard drug use in public spaces, including hospitals, in British Columbia?

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May/29/24 8:10:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I introduced the safe hospitals act, which would ban the minister or any succeeding minister from allowing open, unprescribed and unsupervised hard drug use in hospitals. Does the minister agree that this is common sense?

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May/29/24 8:10:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, will the minister commit to supporting the safe hospitals act, and if not, why not?

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Hon. Mark Holland (Minister of Health, Lib.)

May/29/24 8:27:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our health care system has changed enormously, and it requires all governments to work together in a spirit of co-operation. That is why the federal government has invested nearly $200 billion in health care, including in Quebec, and not just for nurses, hospitals or doctors. We have also made other investments, including for dental care. It is important that we work together.

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Hon. Mark Holland

May/29/24 8:37:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not the federal government's responsibility to run hospitals, but it is the federal government's responsibility to work with the Government of Quebec. It is odd. The member says that the federal government must give money and do more, but also that it must get out of health care. Those two things contradict each other. This is an obligation that we have across the country, not just with the Government of Quebec, but with every province and every administration—

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Mr. Mario Simard

May/29/24 8:37:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very interesting answer. The minister just said that the federal government does not run any hospitals. He just said that the federal government has no expertise in the procedures performed at hospitals. In his previous answer to me, however, he said that we need data on the procedures being done in hospitals. He wants data on something that is not within his purview. The only thing the minister should do is transfer the funds requested by the provinces. I would like to remind him that, during the last negotiation, all of the provinces asked that health transfers increase from roughly 23% for all provinces to 35%, which did not happen. The fiscal imbalance and the problems caused by health care underfunding, including fewer nurses and frontline workers, will persist because the federal government is determined to do what it does best, which is to meddle in a jurisdiction that is none of its business and create programs that make for good PR, yet deliver no help to the people of Quebec or the provinces.

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