Evidence of meeting #135 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was experience.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Krista James  National Director, Canadian Centre for Elder Law
Gisèle Tassé-Goodman  Vice-President, Réseau FADOQ
Philippe Poirier-Monette  Collective Rights Advisor, Provincial Secretariat, Réseau FADOQ
Madeleine Bélanger  As an Individual
Hannah Martin  As an Individual
Nokuzola Ncube  As an Individual
Dharana Needham  As an Individual
Jaelyn Jarrett  As an Individual
Immaculée Kalimurhima  As an Individual
Megan Linton  As an Individual
Valérie Daniel  As an Individual
Phoenix Nakagawa  As an Individual
Charlotte Scott-Frater  As an Individual
Claire Belliveau  As an Individual
Eugénie Veilleux  As an Individual
Corina Picui  As an Individual

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

We're frozen for a moment.

We've lost the witness. If you want to continue with your questioning, we can come back to that.

What would you like to do with your time?

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

I'll give my time away to someone else, and then it can come back to me when she is reconnected.

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Okay. You have five minutes left. I'm going to switch it to Irene.

Irene, we're going to give you the floor for seven minutes, and then we'll come back for five with Rachael.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have so many questions. I'm going to try to be succinct.

I want to thank you for coming back; this is very kind. Thank you for the work that you do. It is so important.

I want to come back to the recommendation in regard to the Canada health transfer and the fact that it needs to be increased. There needs to be more money, because we're heading into the peak of the baby boom generation. I recognize that you want the increase to go to $167 billion. Should there be strings attached? Provincial governments are notorious for taking money and then giving it away as tax breaks or spending it in ways that do not meet the intent, so should there be strings attached to that funding?

10:10 a.m.

Vice-President, Réseau FADOQ

Gisèle Tassé-Goodman

It's tricky to answer that type of question, because health care is under provincial government jurisdiction in Quebec.

We can't ignore the fact that Quebec's population is aging faster than the population in other provinces. We're asking for a proportional annual increase of 6% to include in the current formula. The variable takes into account Canada's aging population.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Should we see the protections that we see in Quebec in other provinces as well, protections for that funding for seniors' health?

10:10 a.m.

Collective Rights Advisor, Provincial Secretariat, Réseau FADOQ

Philippe Poirier-Monette

I don't think that it should come with any conditions. When the federal government wants to direct the delivery of certain services, it allocates specific amounts to those services. In the 2018 budget, I believe that it did so for home care. This method sends a clear message to the provinces, which are then free to implement the program or to withdraw from the program in exchange for compensation.

Our brief clearly states that health care costs provinces and territories $167 billion, but that the federal government spends only $37 billion on this budget item. We don't think that the federal government should cover the full $167 billion. However, we believe that it should invest more money in health care and that it should also take into account the aging population by adding a variable that allocates more money to the provinces with the oldest populations.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Thank you.

Do we have our guests back?

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Yes, our guests are back.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Okay, thank you.

I have so many questions. I'm very interested in the concern about the OAS and the GIS. First and foremost, back in the 1990s—and I think this is approximate—we spent about 3.4% of GDP on OAS. Then we saw an increasing baby boom generation, so by about 2010 we were up to about 3.9%, and fear reigned in the land. These are figures from the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The Parliamentary Budget Officer was very clear that by 2030 that percentage of GDP would come back to less than 2.6% because there would be fewer and fewer seniors. Therefore, increasing the OAS, according to research and the Parliamentary Budget Officer of the day, was a reasonable thing. I thank you for that suggestion. Do you support that notion?

Second, in 2012, if we had increased the GIS by $1 billion—and I want to remind you that it sounds like a lot of money, but a billion dollars in the federal budget is very insignificant, really—that would have lifted all seniors out of poverty. Is there any sense of how much would be needed now in order to raise all seniors, including the majority of seniors who are women, out of poverty?

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Who is that question for?

10:15 a.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

It is for Krista James.

10:15 a.m.

National Director, Canadian Centre for Elder Law

Krista James

Thank you. I'm sorry; I didn't realize the question was for me.

We're not economists, at the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. I am not able to crunch numbers, but I would like to make two further points about raising the GIS and the OAS. First, when we think about those numbers, it is useful to think of them as an investment, and think of old age security as a kind of preventative care. We spend lots of money on supporting seniors who have worsened health, worsened safety, because they can't meet their basic expenses. A homeless senior, or a senior who isn't able to see a physician, is going to have a much worse health situation that costs us a lot of money toward end of life and being in the hospital emergency. So if we're worried about the money, if we invest in helping keep seniors healthy they'll cost us a lot less as they age.

Second, there has been some research recently into the basket of goods measure and the cost of living in different parts of the country. It is problematic to think that it costs the same amount to live in Vancouver as in Charlottetown. It is worthwhile to think about how we approach the OAS and the GIS in a way that reflects the actual cost of living in different communities across the country.

In Vancouver, seniors really suffer because they cannot afford housing in the city, but they also cannot afford to move. They can't afford to move to a less expensive city when they're older because the community that helps keep them well is where they have been living. We know all the factors. Isolation increases mortality and abuse, and decreases quality of life. We want to keep seniors where they are, but if they've been living in an expensive city, they can't afford to continue to age in that city, so they are in a real catch-22 trying to live on OAS and GIS.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

That's excellent.

Irene, we're going to turn over the time to Rachael Harder now.

Rachael, you can finish your time.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

Thank you so much.

My question continues with Madame Bélanger. What are your thoughts, your reflections on the importance of protecting a woman's freedom, her choice and her autonomy, but also providing her with the necessary supports to make sure she's empowered to thrive in her years of being a senior?

10:15 a.m.

As an Individual

Madeleine Bélanger

We must ensure their safety and autonomy. The major issue with seniors is that we have the impression that society infantilizes them to some extent. They're completely taken care of. Senior women don't want to be taken care of by all the other services. They want to be themselves and express themselves, and they want the means to do so.

Obviously, the needs in Vancouver and Quebec aren't the same. However, the needs are similar when it comes to ensuring the independence of senior women. They must still be able to take pride in being, living and participating in the community. This may involve performing civic duties, but also being part of a family and participating in the community.

Should we leave this desire in the hands of the government? Not necessarily. We must take responsibility for this matter together. We must ensure that senior women have a place in our society, because they're full-fledged people who have a wealth of life experience to pass on and who still have plans for the future. That's how I see things.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

Madame Bélanger, can you comment a little further on the contributions that you have made and that you see other women being able to make in their senior years?

10:15 a.m.

As an Individual

Madeleine Bélanger

In terms of my contributions, I've been very involved in helping abandoned children, mainly abroad, and refugees. Throughout my teaching career, I focused on volunteering for international causes that help children, such as causes that support sending child workers to school. I've been very involved on an international level.

On a local level, I've done some pastoral work, obviously, but I've also worked on behalf of teachers, mothers and women who have been abused. I've flourished in that area, and dedicated my life to it.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

We're going to have to suspend now, unfortunately, because we have to go to votes.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank very much Gisèle, Philippe, Geneviève and Krista, as well as Madeleine. I am sorry that we have been interrupted once again.

We will be reconvening at 11 o'clock with Daughters of the Vote.

Thank you very much.

11 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

We're going to reconvene.

I'll give you a bit of information. We're doing this on reduced quorum right now. Usually this membership has two Conservatives, one NDP and six representatives from the Liberal government. It is a bit reduced today, but there will be members from all parties represented, which is really important here as well.

We will begin with our opening statements. To begin, I would like to welcome to the panel Jaelyn Jarrett, Hannah Martin, Nokuzola Ncube and Dharana Needham. Thank you very much for appearing.

Basically, we're going to have three full panels of four. They each have two minutes. We'll do a round of questioning for each, but we'll reduce it to three and then continue if we need to after that. Then we'll switch up our panels.

I would like to welcome you all today. Hannah, you have the floor for your opening two minutes. When you see me put up my finger, that means your time is done.

Go ahead, Hannah.

April 2nd, 2019 / 11 a.m.

Hannah Martin As an Individual

[Witness spoke in Mi’kmaq]

[English]

Hello. My name is Hannah Martin, and I am from the traditional unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq in a place called Tatamagouche, in Nova Scotia. Today I am representing the riding of Cumberland-Colchester, and I will testify on the devastating impacts of resource extraction and development on water and communities in Mi'kmaq territory.

The theme of my testimony is that the violence against indigenous lands is violence against indigenous women. Today I will be making three calls to action on the impacts of Canadian mining at home and away.

For the first time in history, the province of Nova Scotia is planning to release a request for proposals for mining exploration in Warwick Mountain, Nova Scotia. If this mine is not stopped, the tailings will poison the French River watershed and six other watersheds of which the mountain is a part. This will have a direct impact on human life, plants and wildlife—all for five years of jobs.

To date, adequate consultation has not been conducted by Atlantic Gold or the Province of Nova Scotia with indigenous or non-indigenous folks. On behalf of members of the Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia group, and as a Mi'kmaq woman, today I call for the immediate halt of the request for proposals.

With urgency, I call on the Canadian government to hire a now 15-month overdue ombudsperson for responsible enterprise, or CORE. On January 17, 2018, the government promised that it would create the CORE, which would be fully independent and would have the powers to compel documents and testimony.

I, myself, have witnessed the violence of Canadian gold companies abroad in places like San Miguel, where Canadian gold companies are raping and forcibly removing indigenous women from their lands and territories. This is happening by Goldcorp.

Reconciliation and respectful relationships have no borders. We need to be treating indigenous folks and carrying out our promises to indigenous peoples not only in Canada, but also abroad.

11:05 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Thank you very much for your opening statement, Hannah. That's fantastic.

We're now going to move over to Nokuzola. If you could begin, you have your two minutes.

11:05 a.m.

Nokuzola Ncube As an Individual

My name is Nokuzola, but you can call me Zola. I'm a body—a biological process—but I very much belong to social systems. Frankly, my mom might have given me a pep talk before I got here.

In 2017, nearly 4,000 people died from opioid-related causes in Canada. Over the past five years, one in eight Canadians—that's 3.5 million people—has reported having a close friend or a family member who is dependent on opioids.

Opioids are a classification of drugs that, when consumed, activate the reward centres in our brain, which in turn floods our brain with dopamine, which causes feelings of euphoria. We can definitely see that although there may be an aspect of individual agency, this is very much a biological process.

There are two streams that contribute to the opioid-related mortality in Canada: the prescription drug stream and the illegal drug stream. Thirteen per cent of women used prescription opioids in the past year. Among women, the greatest risk for opioid addiction is receiving a prescription for opioid meds in the doctor's office. This is due to many reasons. Women tend to frequent the doctor's office more. They tend to have undealt-with trauma and violence and as a result self-medicate, and they have differing chronic pain experiences.

Though Canada has implemented warning stickers on some opioid labels, as well as information sheets to be given along with prescriptions, there is a relationship between social isolation and addiction. If opioid addiction starts in the doctor's office, specifically for women, so should social support. We need to look into social prescription programs to accompany opioid prescription and employ doctors to listen to women in the doctor's office.

Thank you.

11:05 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Excellent, thank you very much.

We're now going to move over to Dharana for two minutes.

Dharana, you have the floor.

11:05 a.m.

Dharana Needham As an Individual

Thank you.

Hello, everyone. My name if Dharana Needham. I'm a second-year student at McGill University, and I will be representing Vancouver Quadra.

Today I will be speaking on women and poverty, focusing specifically on single mothers living in poverty, subsequent child poverty, and the impact of the health care system on impoverished people with disabilities.

My older brother and I were raised by a single mother who is both diabetic and living with chronic illness. This places her in a category of persons with disabilities.

I am a student living with both physical and learning disabilities, and my entire family is living in poverty. I have been below the poverty line my entire life and, as such, have seen the progression in the lack of resources being made available to single mothers, persons with disabilities and low-income families, which has perpetuated the problem of poverty, specifically within Vancouver.

Due to my mother's disabilities, she is unable to drive. It takes us an hour on public transportation to reach affordable food centres. It takes double the time to reach our nearest welfare offices. Vancouver has become unaccommodating and neglectful to people living in poverty, and I can safely say that this is not the only city in Canada in which this is happening. The issue of access is intensified for single mothers and even more so for a single mother living with a form of disability. This is an occurrence that is significantly more common than one may think.

The current medical system does not accommodate those living in poverty. We claim to be living in a universal health care system; however, we've plateaued at the term and have not considered the fact that an inordinate number of people are still being barred from the health care resources they need because they cannot afford them.

Canada's health care system can be put up on a pedestal because, technically, it is universal—and I am forever grateful for that—but when I have to choose between paying for my medication and paying for my rent, I cannot be proud of our system.

I understand that the topics I am discussing are regulated by provincial governments. However, these cannot be considered provincial issues. They are concerns that fall under the mandate of each respective provincial government, but they are problems that transcend one province and are perpetuated across the country.