- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Québec
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 62%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $169,298.52
- Government Page
- Apr/15/24 3:09:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have already answered this question in English. I can provide a similar answer in French.
Taking care of Canadians is exactly what we are doing, while ensuring that the Canadian government's procurement system is efficient, fair and transparent, based on the new rules we have put in place over the past few months, for one. Taking care of Canadians also means recognizing that too many Canadians are facing a housing crisis. That is why, over the past few days, we have been proud to announce many measures that Canadians will be reminded of again in tomorrow's budget.
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- Oct/21/22 11:46:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am sure the member wants to hear the answer because she is very focused on the problems in her riding. I congratulate her for that. That is why, over the last few weeks and months, we have been investing increased resources through an additional $2-billion investment to reduce backlogs and another $1 billion to support health care workers in long-term care settings—
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- Jun/13/23 2:51:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his collaboration and support towards building and tabling a bill on pharmacare in the next few months. That is going to lead to greater accessibility, greater affordability and greater appropriateness of the use of drugs in this country. We look forward to reviewing his bill and to working with all members of the House toward a better drug system for all Canadians.
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- Mar/21/23 2:59:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am certain that my colleague, like all members of the House, agree that in Canada we receive health care based on need and not on our ability to pay. The Canada Health Act is clear. In Canada, what gives us access to health care is our health card, not the privilege of being able to pay for health care or the inability to pay for it.
That is why we will continue to ensure that all Canadians can have access to free quality health care.
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- Feb/10/23 11:49:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague from Kitchener for her hard work. I am thankful for this opportunity to say exactly that. On Tuesday, we made an offer of over $200 billion over the next 10 years to prepare the future in health care, but also to repair the damage that was caused by COVID-19, by giving more access to family health teams, which are essential for a truly functioning health care system, reducing backlogs, supporting health care workers, investing in mental health and having a data system in Canada that saves lives and protects the health of workers.
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- Feb/10/23 11:30:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our colleague is exactly right. For workers to care for people and patients, we need to care for them. It has been very hard during COVID-19 until now. All the pressure, mental health challenges and the physical damage that COVID has had on workers has left a large number of them sick or tired. We need to care for them if we want them to keep caring for us.
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- Feb/8/23 4:20:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to describe an important step our government took just yesterday to strengthen our country's health care system.
As we all know, accessible, publicly funded, universal health care is a source of pride for many Canadians. Unfortunately, over the past several decades, and certainly in recent years, our health care system has faced unprecedented challenges.
Across the country, Canadians seeking care are finding their emergency rooms overwhelmed or even closed. Surgeries are being postponed or even cancelled. We have all heard heartbreaking stories of how the system has failed. Canadians deserve better. No one should lose a loved one because they could not get timely medical care.
After months of work, yesterday our government tabled a strong, reasonable and concrete offer to deliver real results for health care workers and all Canadians.
First, we want to work together to improve essential access to family health care, especially in rural and remote regions and underserved communities. Right now, less than one-third of Canadians can see a health care provider within 48 hours. However, we know that better access to quality family health care helps us live healthier lives, reducing hospitalizations and ER visits. That is especially true for children, because prevention is key to avoiding long-term health problems. That means investing in family health teams, which may include doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, dietitians, occupational therapists and other health care providers.
Second, we want to work together to support our health care workers and reduce surgical backlogs. As my colleagues from Yukon and Thunder Bay—Rainy River, who are both doctors, have told us time and time again, our health care workers suffered greatly during the pandemic. Many of them got sick or experienced burnout. Unfortunately, many of them left the profession. Those who remain are worried they will be forced to bear an additional burden. They took care of us, and we want to take care of them too. That means investing to improve support, retention, training and recruitment and to recognize the credentials of workers trained in Canada or abroad. It also means better planning and more investment in the future of our workers, which includes creating a centre of excellence to support their future.
Third, together we want to improve mental health and substance use services for Canadians. Currently, one in three Canadians report having mental health problems. As my colleague, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, so often says, mental health is health. Mental health is an integral part of overall health and how we function as a society, so it requires special attention. Our goal is to provide Canadians with a multidisciplinary care model that integrates mental health into all of our shared priorities. For example, with better access to a family health team, people who are suffering will be more easily referred to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Fourth, we want to work together to modernize our health care system, because information saves lives. I have had this discussion with many people, including my colleague from St. John's East, and we know that improved access to health information will help patients take better care of their health. This is also essential to ensuring that health care workers can provide high-quality health care and make informed decisions. Imagine a nurse or physician in an emergency room trying to treat an unconscious patient in need of urgent care, without knowing what medication the patient is taking, what allergies they have, and what their medical history is.
Can members recall a time when they were referred by one health professional to another and felt frustrated at being asked to answer the same questions and take the same tests again because their medical records could not be shared?
That results in a duplication of efforts, a lot of stress for health care workers and increased costs. In 2023, it should be possible to share medical information securely in order to provide patients with quality health care while respecting their privacy.
Finally, helping Canadians age with dignity closer to home, with access to home care or safe long-term care, is another area of common priority. Many seniors want to remain in their family homes for as long as possible but lack supports to do so.
Collaborative work is fortunately already on its way with provinces and territories to support access to home care and safe long-term care through a joint investment of $6 billion over five years.
Investing in these five key areas of common priorities will help repair the damage caused by COVID-19 and prepare for the future. The investment announced yesterday of $198 billion over 10 years, of which $48 billion is new funding, includes certain common commitments.
First, as per our shared responsibility under the Canada Health Act, governments must ensure that health care is provided based on need, not on the ability to pay. Governments must also ensure equitable access to health care services and that such access is supported by a strong public health care sector.
Second, agreements will reflect our joint commitment to health equity in reconciliation, so that indigenous peoples are able to access quality and culturally safe health services. Finally, we will also continue supporting better access for underserved and equity-deserving groups, including Canadians living in rural and remote areas, and those living in official language minority communities.
In summary, the major support that our government announced yesterday is aimed at helping Canadians live longer, healthier lives. To do that well, we need to act now and for the future. As time goes by, pressure on the health system will only increase as the demographic, social, health and environmental changes accelerate. Our aging population is straining the health care system just as health needs are growing. Experts also agree that we are facing increasing chronic and infectious diseases, growing costs for technology and drugs and the escalating impacts of climate change.
In conclusion, I want to thank my provincial and territorial health ministers for their strong collaborative work over the past year and assure them that our government will continue to be there to support them.
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- Nov/28/22 2:47:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think everyone in the House feels a duty to support the Canada Health Act, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it is an important thing to do right now.
Our workers and patients are suffering across Canada. That is why we invested, just a few months ago, an extra $2 billion in reducing backlogs in surgeries and treatments. That is why the CHT will increase by another 10% in March of this year. That is why we are investing $3 billion in mental health, $3 billion in long-term care and $3 billion in home care. There is more we will be doing over the next few weeks.
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- Nov/14/22 2:28:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for pointing out the useful battle that we need to be waging, the battle for our health care workers, who are suffering, who are sick and who left the profession in droves in Quebec and other parts of the country. They need our help to be able to take care of those who are seriously ill right now and who did not have the surgeries and diagnoses they should have over the past few months.
Let us talk about that useful battle because that is what is important for workers and patients across the country.
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- Oct/25/22 2:50:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are all grateful for the member's question. We all feel and fear the consequences of the crisis that health care workers throughout the country are going through. That is true everywhere in Canada, as we heard. People are having difficulty accessing appropriate emergency care, but, more than that, difficulty getting access to a family health team, to a safe and quality long-term care home, to home care, to palliative care and to dental care.
That is why we are investing many billions of dollars and we are going to continue doing that, because we promised we would do so—
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- Oct/21/22 11:45:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are obviously very focused on and mindful of the severe difficulties health care workers across the country, including in the member's riding, have been facing for a long time. They have been exacerbated during COVID-19. That is why we are going to work together to continue to do that with increased—
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Madam Speaker, I think we are all grateful to hear this question. As we said earlier, mental health is an integral part of health. Mental health care has to be a part of health care.
We also mentioned earlier that approximately $6 billion is already in the fiscal framework for the next five years to support mental health care, home care, community care and additional investments for long-term care. We know, because we said it during the campaign, that we will be doing more. In particular, we will be putting into place mental health transfers specifically targeted to the things that our colleague mentioned earlier.
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Madam Speaker, I am certain, because I know the member well, that she also knows what it is like for seniors to take care of their general health, whether we are talking about seniors in long-term care facilities, in residences or every senior who has difficulty affording dignified dental care.
I am sure the member also agrees with everyone in the House that taking care of seniors is also important.
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Madam Speaker, there are two things: first, the process, and second, the outcomes.
This is the right process to proceed quickly to deliver better dental care for children.
On the outcome, about two million school days are missed by children every year because they need to go for emergency dental care. This is time wasted, obviously, for children. It is also an important burden for families. We need to do better. When children get sick, it is bad for their health and it is also bad for their long-term development, socially and health-wise, especially when they miss days at school.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for wanting to take a closer look at the bill. That is exactly what we can do if we vote for the motion today. We can go to committee and take the time needed to listen to experts to see how taking care of our children's dental health means taking care of their health in general. It avoids them having to go to the hospital for emergency surgery that would not be needed if they had access to quality preventive dental care. It is for all children who need it in Quebec and elsewhere.
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- Oct/17/22 3:08:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague, the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, for being sincere and honest about the extremely difficult situation of his constituent. I invite him to contact me directly to ensure that Health Canada does everything possible so that this individual can receive the services she needs for her health and that of all those who care for her and are there to help her.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right in pointing to the 500,000 children who we estimate do not have appropriate dental care, in addition to those that do not have appropriate child care for their families. In the member's riding, probably around 1,000 to 2,000 children and their families would benefit from this dental care program, if it is passed by Parliament. That is obviously a lot of children who would live a healthier life because of those investments.
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Madam Speaker, we all know, and I am sure the member knows this as well, that health and health care are global. It is all part of an entire body. It would be unfortunate to say that we should treat one part of our body or mind and not treat the other parts. They are all connected, and that is why investments in dental care, mental care, long-term care, home care and community care are all important. We are not going to choose which aspects of people we need to invest in.
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- Jun/23/22 2:50:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to speak to that matter. We have had many discussions and a lot of action in the last few weeks and months with my health minister colleagues.
It is true that our health care workers are very burdened physically and mentally with COVID-19 and many other serious issues. In fact, I am speaking again this afternoon with my health minister colleagues on that topic and many others.
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- Mar/28/22 3:05:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Alfred-Pellan for his hard work and for his excellent question.
On Friday we announced $2 billion in additional unconditional funding to help the provinces and territories address the delays in treatments, diagnosis and surgeries; to support health care workers, who have suffered considerably because of COVID‑19; to improve access to primary care; to create digital personal medical records for everyone; to improve mental health and access to addiction services; to help everyone live and age with dignity; and to continue to ensure that—
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