- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Green Party
- Saanich—Gulf Islands
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 61%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $112,862.18
- Government Page
- Apr/29/24 3:43:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising to present a petition that is of keen concern to residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands. In fact, it is a petition that other petitioners within the riding have had me present to the government and to the Parliament assembly before. It is not an unfamiliar issue, I know, to members on all sides of the House. It is the crisis of the absence of family doctors, specifically in Saanich—Gulf Islands.
Where 92% of physicians across Canada work in urban areas, areas such as Saanich—Gulf Islands have 8% left to cover the needs of constituents. Within Victoria and Sidney, for example, the average wait time at a walk-in clinic is between 92 and 180 minutes. I certainly have experienced, recently, the absence of a family doctor and the impact it has had on my life.
The petitioners, specifically recognizing that this is not solely one jurisdiction's exclusive responsibility, call on the House of Commons and Parliament to work with the provinces and the territories to come to a holistic and fair solution to Canada's current family doctor shortage crisis.
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- Mar/22/24 12:31:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to present two petitions this morning. They are both of critical concern to members of my constituency.
I had the honour of hosting 12 community meetings recently in different parts of the riding. There was not a single meeting where the issue of the crisis of access to family doctors was not raised.
I put forward a petition where the petitioners note that, according to Statistics Canada, approximately 4.8 million Canadians do not have a regular doctor. Moreover, 92% of physicians are working in urban centres and just 8% in rural areas. In Victoria and Sidney, B.C., within Saanich—Gulf Islands, average wait times for a walk-in clinic are 92 minutes and 180 minutes, respectively.
The petitioners call on the government to work with the provinces and territories to come to a holistic and fair solution to deal with the family doctor health care provider shortage.
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- Feb/13/24 10:06:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise and present a petition from constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands who are concerned about the nexus between the climate crisis and the health of humanity. The petitioners note that the World Health Organization has determined that, “Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.”
The health impacts from climate change include lung disease; heat-related illness and death; the spread of infectious diseases, and we note, in Canada, the spread of lyme disease related to climate change; displacement; famine; droughts; and mental health impacts, which are already being felt in Canada and abroad, and they are expected to accelerate.
Petitioners are, and I want to underline this, a particular class of knowledgeable individuals. The petitioners are described as physician mothers of Canada. They are people who are mothers and also speak with concern for our children, as many of us do, but with the added lens of the knowledge that they bring as physicians.
They call on the government and the House of Commons to act on the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment's calls to action on climate change and health, prioritize the reduction of emissions as quickly as possible, implement a national carbon pricing strategy and commit to the rapid elimination of fossil fuels from our economy.
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- May/3/23 9:29:02 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-6
Madam Speaker, I did actually put forward, in a previous Parliament, a private member's bill called “think small first”, but have not been able to get it back through the legislative drafting. It was designed for small businesses, to ensure that there would be a regulatory review of any new regulation and to consider specifically how it would affect small businesses. It is based on a similar bill that was brought forward by the Green Party in the European Union. Therefore, I have a lot of sympathy, but not for cutting deeply without figuring out where we need regulations, because they help protect health and safety.
I just met with representatives of the College of Family Physicians, and they pointed out that there is a federal regulatory burden that costs our health care system because of forms that doctors have to fill out for the federal government. I wonder why that is not in this bill, and whether the member has any thoughts.
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- May/3/23 4:01:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place today to speak. I want to let people watching know that the reason we are all wearing red carnations is for multiple sclerosis awareness.
The petition I am honoured to present today is from a rather specific and unusual group of petitioners, medical doctors who are also mothers. The Physician Mothers of Canada are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize that the World Health Organization has identified climate change as “the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.”
They are calling upon the Government of Canada to view the advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the special report on 1.5° as the call for urgent and transformative change.
In short, the petitioners, being the Physician Mothers of Canada, call on the Government of Canada to act on the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment's calls for action to decarbonize our economy rapidly and to recognize that we must ensure green energy policies at every level. Every minister in the Government of Canada should view their actions through the climate lens.
There are other elements of this petition. I am summarizing a really important work rather quickly.
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- Nov/23/22 4:13:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this petition is one from many residents of the communities within Saanich—Gulf Islands, but particularly in the Victoria and Sidney areas. Petitioners cite Statistics Canada, noting that approximately 4.8 million Canadians, which is an astonishing figure, do not have a family doctor. Despite the number of physicians in Canada growing, the number of Canadians without a regular doctor is remaining stable.
Petitioners note that, within our own community, in Victoria and Sidney average wait times for a walk-in clinic are 92 minutes and 180 minutes respectively. I know I am only supposed to summarize the petition, but neither my husband nor I have a family doctor. This petition is personal. Petitioners call on the government to work with provinces and territories to come to a holistic and fair solution to Canada's family doctor shortage.
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- Jun/14/22 10:13:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition relates to the number of physicians in Canada and the lack of family doctors. There is an acute shortage. The citizens and petitioners in this petition call on us as a House of Commons to work with all provinces and territories to come to a fair and holistic solution for the current doctor shortage.
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